Priest deals in win
Shamrocks win at home for first time since 2019
Yuma Catholic junior pitcher Austin Priest looked poised and confident in his first start of the 2021 season as the Shamrocks beat Lake Havasu 2-0.
The right-hander began the game striking out Lake Havasu’s first batter.
From there, the two-sport athlete settled in on his way to pitching five innings, striking out seven and surrendering just two hits.
“I felt good,” Priest said. “It was the first time in a
while (starting). I felt comfortable. Everything was smooth.”
Whether it was his fastball or breaking ball, Priest fooled the Knights’ batters all game.
“(Priest) is a bulldog out there,” YC head coach Curt Foppe said. “He takes the ball and keeps grinding. He kept us in the game here... He kept taking the ball and going out there and pitched out of a couple jams.”
Priest’s lone scare of the day came after allowing a leadoff walk in the top of the 5th inning. After striking out the next two hitters, Lake Havasu’s cleanup hitter belted a double to put runners in scoring position – a rare sight Wednesday for the Knights.
However, just two pitches later, Priest forced a line out to YC’s 3B Issac Araiza.
After an eight-run performance
in the season opener
Friday, the Shamrocks’ bats were limited in the win over Lake Havasu, but YC managed to do just enough to earn its second win of the season.
Alan Rosas was plunked early on a wild curveball. Two batters later, Christian Ramos stroked a hard hit double into the left center gap to plate Rosas.
And in the third inning, Araiza knocked in Anthony Carrilo on a sac-fly to left field.
Scoring early made Priest’s life easier, he said.
“It’s a huge confidence booster (getting an early lead),” Priest noted. “Knowing that my offense could get runs for me and just let me pitch is great.”
Wednesday’s game was the first time the Shamrocks have hosted an AIA regulated game at home since May 3, 2019. The feeling playing in front of the home crowd was a nice welcome
back for the Shamrocks.
“It’s very nice considering we didn’t get to play a home game last year,” Foppe said. “It’s awesome to get out here and play and we did some things well.”
There were several critical miscues by YC in the win. Major errors occurred on the base paths.
The Shamrocks missed several signals rounding the bases, costing them potentially opportunities to extend the lead.
“We’re very aggressive on the base paths,” Foppe said. “And I don’t want to take that away from our guys, we just have to be smarter while being aggressive….But a win is a win.”