Aaron Healy is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain View High School for AZPreps365.com

It’s a baseball hitter’s dream. Bases are loaded with one out in the top of the fourth inning.

Senior Toro outfielder Willy Roberts stepped up to the plate in a pivotal spot in the game. With one crack of the bat, Roberts sent a moonshot to left field for a grand slam leading to a Mountain View Toros 7-1 win Thursday night. 

“I was expecting offspeed there and it was a two-strike count there. I got the pitch I wanted and was able to throw it and do what I wanted to do with it. It felt really good,” Roberts said.

That was a huge part of the reason why the Toros went on to dominate Desert Vista. Head coach Jesus Arzaga believes in his players and their abilities.  

“He’s a free swinger, ultimately he had a really good at bat, and got the pitch that he wanted, and did what he needed to,” Arzaga said. 

Offensively, the Toros were firing on all cylinders and they had impressive pitching to go along with it. Junior pitcher Isaiah Csader was a man on a mission Thursday night. Pitching all six innings and giving up just one run to Desert Vista. Everything that came out of his hand was gas.

“My pitches felt good, it was cold so my fingers bothered me, but overall they felt really good,” Csader said. 

The few hits that Desert Vista mustered up were mainly due to their ability to recognize Csader’s curveball. 

Pitching and offense wasn’t a problem in this game when compared to the first game the Toros played in a double header against Mesquite on Thursday. The Toros lost their first game against the Mesquite Wildcats, but the team showed great resilience and found a way to bounce back against the Thunder.  

“They came back really well, especially after the Mesquite game. To me, it's just competing for the full seven innings and it's really nice when you have a pitcher in Isaiah to just throw strikes and keep the defense going. Ultimately, it's just continuing to compete; especially with a team like that in Desert Vista,” Arzaga said.

The Toros hope to make a playoff run starting with the preseason tournament games to get the team warmed up for their conference opponents.

“This preseason tournament is huge. We play five really good teams, and it prepares us for our conference schedule, which is just as tough as anybodys. So, I think it's just seeing really good pitching, seeing really good defense, seeing really good teams, and just competing. Whether you win or lose, being able to compete for the seven innings is really useful,” Arzaga said.

Their first win against Desert Vista peaked the Toros’ confidence at an all time high and they hope to carry those results into future games. 

“We just have to keep it rolling. We’re very confident in our team and our offensive ability and we just have to pick it up defensively a little bit and then we should be good from there,” Roberts said. 

The Mountain View Toros look to keep it rolling against the Highland Hawks on Friday, Feb. 25.