money Basha makes baseball statement in win over top-ranked Hamilton in rivalry showdown
A national high school baseball tournament in North Carolina, where it went 2-2 last week, might have been the best thing for Chandler Basha as it turned its attention to Hamilton on Tuesday.
Forget about any jet lag.
The third-ranked (Super 10) Bears pounced on the top-ranked Huskies and got six strong innings from senior left-hander Bradyn Barnes in a 7-3 6A Premier Region win at Hamilton.
Hamilton scored a total of 29 runs in two games that it won by 10 runs each last week.
"Seeing those tough teams and competing at that level, I think it was the best thing for our team," coach Jim Schilling said of the North Carolina trip.
Here are some takeaways as we head into the final month of the season:
Big bounce back
Barnes constantly gets ahead in the count to Hamilton's mighty lineup that features two of the top players in the country in Roch Cholowsky and Josh Tiedemann, who scattered four hits to earn the win.
Barnes was helped by his defense. He got out of a jam in the fourth inning by inducing an inning-ending double-play. And right fielder Nathan Nichols, who will be playing at Yavapai College, robbed A.J. Diaz of a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Right-hander Carter Boone was lights out in pitching the seventh for the Bears.
Barnes said in North Carolina, he thought he pitched "rough," but was used out of the bullpen to lead into Tuesday's game.
"N.C. was nice, we got to face really good competition," Barnes said. "And, knowing that this team was right around the corner, we used it to benefit us. Getting off that plane two days ago, we knew what was coming. And we got the job done."
Schilling had faith in Barnes.
"He struggled a little bit, but we knew he was due for a really good outing," he said.
Riding momentum
Basha (14-5, 1-0 region) faces Hamilton (14-4, 0-1) again on Thursday, so it won't have long to celebrate this, knowing that the Huskies are capable of unleashing their hitters.
For a day, at least. Barnes was able to tame the Huskies, working the strike zone aggressively, relying on his defense, and getting clutch contributions from the offense.
Alex Dabrowski's two-run single in the fifth extended Basha's lead to 4-1. Drew Douglas had a solo homer in the sixth. Second baseman Brady Lord added a two-run triple in the same inning to make it 7-1.
"We just wanted to carry that energy we had in Cary (North Carolina)," Dabrowski said. "Just keep the bats rolling. It showed out today."
Staying laser-focused
Schilling thought his team should have won all four games in North Carolina. The Bears lost their first game to Huntington Beach (California) 6-3 and their last game to Doral Academy (Florida) 4-3.
Hamilton, which has won eight state championships, including last year, will keep Basha focused.
"We respect them so much," Schilling said. "They're the gold standard. Any time you can beat those guys, it's a big deal."
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Basha makes baseball statement in win over top-ranked Hamilton
