(EDITOR’S NOTE: Instead of a normal game story, picking one 6A softball pool championship game over the other, writer Jason Skoda decided to do a little something different: Do a timeline of the happenings – the sights and sounds – of the games going on simultaneously. The two games involved No. 10 Mesa Mountain View vs. No. 1 Queen Creek on Field 1 and No. 4. Xavier vs. No. 3 Pinnacle on Field 2)

6: 31 p.m. – R2 and I arrive at Mesa High a little later than I usually do prior to games.

When the first pitch is at 99 degress, you need to remain hydrated especially when you decide to cover two games at once. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

Early arrivals are important for many reasons, mostly because this is when relationships and trust between a coach and a reporter can payoff so I always try to get to games in plenty of time to interact with as many as people as I can.

The few minutes you spend with coaches before a game can unearth little nuggets. It's all off the record, but you file it away as a reporter. If whatever they tell has an impact then you can ask about it after the game and use it to add depth to the anecdote.

Alas, we have a new 11-week old terror, I mean, terrier pup at home named Juney that I kept chasing and cleaning up after for a little longer than I expected so here I am feeling rushed as I head to the fields.

This would be Juney and she was the reason for the tardy arrival. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

6:34 p.m. – Show credential at the gate and think back to a year ago, when I started writing for AzPreps365 and covered this same round. I am extremely grateful to be doing this again after a seven-year hiatus to start a teaching career while also coaching high school softball.

6:38 p.m. – Walk into the Mountain View dugout, have a brief talk with Toro coach Fernando Lopez and get a shot of his lineup. Have a quick conversation about the team getting to this point as a 10 seed. “I knew we were better than a 10 seed, and we’ve shown that,” he said.

6:41 p.m. – Grab a quick photo of Queen Creek lineup. Coach Ann Pierson is talking to team so no quick conversation with the mentor of the state’s top team.

6:43 p.m. – Run into Mountain View AD and softball dad Joe Goodman, who I’ve known for years as my daughter played for him in 12U and then our daughters played on the same club team for years.

6:45 p.m. – Step on to Field 2, although I struggle with the gate (pushed instead of pulled) the first time and essentially bounced my face off the chain-link.

6:46 p.m. – Grab a shot of the Xavier lineup. Introduce myself to co-head coach Tom Sahhar; explain to him that I’m not doing a traditional game story, and that I may miss parts of the game so if I ask dumb questions afterward as if I wasn’t watching, it’s because I missed something covering the other game.

6:48 p.m. – Find the Pinnacle lineup, shortly there after catch up with Pinnacle coach Corey Mathis.

6:50 p.m. – Make my way back to Field 1, talk with Pierson and the facilities at Mesa. She likes the condition of the field and the atmposhere of two games at once. 

6:52  p.m.– Player introductions start on Field 1, soon followed by Field 2.

6:54 p.m. - Say hello to AIA Executive Director Jim Dean and AIA tournament director Mark Panepinto, who was one of the best wrestling referees in his time with a whistle around his neck.

Always good to say hello to the bosses and let them know your plans for the event.

6:58  p.m. – National Anthem begins as everyone turns and looks at the flag behind both home plates.

7:01 p.m. – First pitch on Field 1, quickly followed by Field 2.  

7:07 p.m. - Toros go down in order; while Gators first three batters get on to score a run.

7:11 p.m. – Leave Field 1 for Field 2. Pinnacle pitcher Lilly Hamel induces the ground ball she needs to end the inning, but the throw to first goes wide of the first baseman. With two outs, the runners were on the move and both runs score for a quick 3-0 lead for the Gators.

"The moment got too big for some of our girls," Mathis said candidly afterward. "When that happened, we started giving up runs."

7:17 p.m. – While tweeting out the news of Xavier’s quick start, the crowd on Field 1 gets loud.

Get over there in time to see Queen Creek sophomore Delia Marquez double home two runs on the way to a 4-0 start. Toro defense didn’t have a clean first inning and it led to some runs that probably shouldn’t have scored.

7:18 p.m. – Pinnacle looks to answer, gets a couple runners on but Gator sophomore Sydney Root gets out of it. It was the start of a common theme throughout.

7:21 p.m. – Lost first pencil of the night. The over under on how many will be lost before the night is over is 2.5.

7:27 p.m. - Said hello to photographer Andy Silvas because you know a reporter's best friend is the one who holds a very expensive camera with the really big lens rather than stinking Samsung I try and make work.

He gave me the "I'll take care of you." acknowledgement that takes some pressure off trying to get an impactful picture. See below for his work and boy did he deliver.

Andy has been very good to me over the years. Probably owe him a meal or two at this point.

7:34 p.m. – I hear crowd on other field get loud so I make my way back over there in time to see Alessia Velazquez be greeted at the home plate by teammates after she went opposite field off Mountain View pitcher Danielle Gloria. No. 1 seed up a quick 5-0 after two innings.

"We came out swining, looking to barrel up balls." Velazquez said about the quick start. "It's what we do best." 

7:36 p.m. – Making my way back to Field 2 – HEADS UP – a foul ball goes up high above fields, falls to the ground and bounds away. It’s a dangerous alleyway in between both field as the fields are close together. So close that at times foul balls interrupt play on the other field.

I worry a little that I'll have my back to the other field, grabbing video on my phone, and I'll get blasted by a ball.

A ton of parents, fans are standing between both fields while these aerial shots come raining down. Those who are club parents are used to the shelling. 

7:41 p.m. – Head up the sidewalk, run into retired Red Mountain coach Rick Hamilton, who won five state titles and is now on the AIA softball committee.

I start talking to him about the Mesa High facilities and the crazy foul balls. There are murmurs from those in softball community wondering why these games aren’t played at bigger facilities. He likes the two games going on at the same time. Makes a reference to Rose Mofford days when there’d be four games going on at the same time. Double the foul ball action.

I tell him I saw all-time great Dallas Escobedo pitch there, and he lights up and talks about the fact that Red Mountain’s first state title came against St. Mary's and Escobedo via 2-0 win in 2010 thanks to a Courtney Sherwin two-run home run in the sixth inning. They faced Escobedo in the regular season finale and struck out 16 times, but in the championship games it was only six times.

It’s these type of conversations that make the Mesa location cool as the softball community flocks to these games. You run into the whose who of the game and stories are shared all night long.

7:54 p.m. – Mountain View’s Hadlie Goodman reaches first base after being hit by an Aubrey Chavez pitch to break up her perfect game. It’s no wonder, it is Goodman as she is an extreme pest and just might be one of the hardest outs in the state. She frustrates a lot coaches and pitchers.

7:56 p.m. – I found the pen my original pencil. Hope you didn't take the over.

A good reporter has at least 38 pienclis on hand at all times. Or at least this one does because the utensils tend to disappear.  (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

8:03 p.m. – Toro center fielder Mykhel Dineyazhe keeps Queen Creek off the board in the fifth as two shots off the bat by Emma Reynolds and Velazquez look destined to be off the wall at the very least, but the junior glides back and secures both catches against the wall.

8:04 p.m. – Meeting of two greats – I find Hamilton talking to East Valley legendary writer Les Willsey, who is keeping score while taking in the game from the stands. “Two greats? I only see one,” Willsey said.

If you know Les at all, you know exactly who he is sarcastically talking about.

Retired writer Les WIllsey, left, and former Red Mountain head coach Rich Hamilton catch up during the Queen Creek-Mountain View game. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

8:21 p.m. – Dineyazhe make another great play – catches a fly ball for second out. She got behind it, got her momentum going forward and throws out a runner at the plate to keep it at 5-0 after five innings.

"I told her her freshman year that if she puts in the work, she could be the best outfielder in the state," Mountain View assitant coach Eric Campos said. "She looked at me like I was crazy, but she's been terrific."

8:23 p.m. – Pinnacle freshman Aubriana Rivera singles up to the middle, advances to second when Xavier CF bobbles it to give Pioneers some life in the bottom of 5.

8:28 p.m. – Facing elimination down 6-0 and her last career at bat, Mountain View senior Keelie Goodman singles to left field to break up Chavez’s no-hitter.

8:32 p.m. – Toro senior Kylynn Sylvester strikes out in her final at bat, giving way to freshman clean up hitter Allison Robles.

It’s an interesting little juxtaposition – as one of the best Toros ever in Sylvester leaves the batter’s box for the last time, while a very promising freshman who has three more years to play steps into the box and promptly singles in the hole to a diving Reynolds.

8:33 p.m. – Queen Creek infield comes together to talk it out with Chavez.

8:39 p.m. – Mountain View sophomore Ashlyn Parra singles to score K. Goodman to give Toros a shot to make a run the Bulldogs.

8:39 p.m. – Almost at the same time, Pinnacle’s Torynn Slaughter hits a 2-run shot to pull within 5-2 of the Gators. The Pioneers have to win to advance to title game, while a Xavier win forces another game on Thursday.

8:43 p.m. – After a strikeout, and a fly ball to center field Tayla Falquez the Bulldogs clinch their third straight trip to the 6A finals with a 6-1 win over the Toros.

Queen Creek celebrates, the Toros mill around, the sudden end to their season and careers for the seniors is starting to settle in for the team in the first base dugout.

After the handshake ritual ends, both teams huddle in the respective outfields. Total different moods, messages and disposition. As you’d expect, the Queen Creek huddle ends earlier.

“We put up some runs early and it just lets the team just breath,” Pierson said. “(Mountain View) came in playing well, and we came out early and took control and that’s important when playing a team that is playing on emotion.”

She praised the team’s ability to barrel balls, thinks about how the team is headed to Grand Canyon University, where she coached prior to Queen Creek, for the championship game, how the Bulldogs pitchers are fresh and they are hoping for a different outcome after finishing as runner-up the last two seasons.

8:52 p.m. - As the Toro huddle lingers, and I wait to talk to coaches and players, Xavier adds a run in the top of the seventh to push the lead to 6-2. I see a ton of parents waiting for the players, and readying themselves for whatever emotions their kid brings with them after stepping out of the dugout, some for the very last time.

This was heartbreaking as a parent.

Parents are there to console and congratule after a season ends. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

8:55 p.m. – Mountain View huddle separates, a team picture is taken and the Toros seniors take a picture with Lopez. Hugs, tears and laughs are shared.

“The senior leadership got us here,” Lopez said.

Mountain View seniors hug as their careers come to an end. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

Sylvester was emotional but understood this part of the game. As a reporter, I am trying to listen to her while also keep an ear open to Field 2 where I hear the crowd getting loud.

“You play your last game at some point,” Sylvester said. “We hoped it would be a little later, but we all know it will end at one time or another. It’s a big deal. A lot of time with these players and coaches, and it has been pretty special.”

9:03 p.m. – I make it over to field 2. There are two outs, but Rivera singles again. Pinnacle goes wild, but it was just a momentary pause.

9:06 p.m. – A groundball to third base and the throw across the field ends the game. Xavier 6, Pinnacle 2. It means the two teams run it back on Thursday with the winner headed to GCU where Queen Creek will be waiting.

The defending champion is alive and well.

“We got what we needed - another day,” Sahhar said. “We had to win and you never know what will happen. We’ve overcome some adversity to get here and now we have a chance to get where we need.”  

The Xavier players and coaches huddle up after extending their season by beating Pinnacle. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

While the Xavier team was done pretty quickly, Pinnacle was going take all the time it needed before getting on the team bus that will make a return trip on Thursday.

But not before having a good time.

“That game is done, and we are going to go sing on the bus and have some fun,” Mathis said. “We are going to trust the preparation we’ve put into this and not the result of that last game. That’s the way we’ve always done it. When we lose games were not going to let it hang into the next practice or game.

“We lost. We got beat but what are we going to do differen?. We get an opportunity to do something different, and lot of teams don’t get that opportunity, so we have to take advantage of it.”

9:15 p.m. – Xavier bus backs out of its spot in the parking lot and heads back to Phoenix.

9:16 p.m. – R2 and I return to our vehicle and start heading home, knowing we’ll probably be back at Mesa in about 21 hours.

The end of the night at the ballfield means the night is just getting started. Time to go home and write about the two games. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

Send comments and story ideas to jskoda@azpreps365.com. Follow him on X for game coverage, insights, opinions and story links to AzPreps365.com.

 

Photos from Andy Silvas of Queen Creek closing out the game.