TEMPE - Salpointe junior standout Colton Raetzman hit a rocket to the left field wall with one on in the bottom of the first, some 20 feet over the head of the left fielder, and he raced all the way around the bases to beat the throw home. His two-run, inside-the-park blast put Salpointe up 2-0 and that was all the offense the Lancers needed in the 4A state championship game played at Diablo Stadium in Tempe but the team got more. Five runs in the first turned into an 8-0 victory over Flagstaff and the celebration was on.

Even though Salpointe (26-4-1) came in as the top-seed in the double elimination bracket, there might have been a feeling of still something for the program to prove against No. 14 Flagstaff (22-10) Monday night but, just as the bat of Raetzman was not fully scouted by the Eagles, the extent of the power of the Lancers was not fully understood. Perhaps the lingering performance of being down 7-0 to No. 16 St. Mary’s in the fourth inning of the opening round was in play but the Lancers did score seven runs in the bottom half of that inning to erase the deficit and the team went on to beat St. Mary’s 9-8 to advance to the second round where the team run-ruled No. 9 Bradshaw Mountain 10-0.

The Lancers beat No. 13 Mesquite 9-1 in the next game and then No. 5 Ironwood Ridge 8-5 in the semifinal round. On the other side of the bracket, three of the higher seeds were eliminated in the first round, including No. 3 Prescott losing 7-6 to Flagstaff. No. 2 ALA-Queen Creek lost in the second round and Flagstaff beat No. 11 Deer Valley 5-4 in eight innings. Then, Flagstaff beat No. 10 Saguaro twice to set up the final game with Salpointe. The Eagles were the lowest seed at No. 14 to make the 4A/D-II state final since No. 8 Sunnyslope won it all in 2012. It was a magical run for the Eagles, who dedicated the season to the late wife of assistant coach Ed Vesely. Susan Vesely passed away on Feb. 5 and her spirit helped carry the Eagles to the final night.

Lucas Shannon (5-0) collected eight strikeouts in the victory over Flagstaff and he gave up only two hits. His offense came through in a big way the first inning as mentioned before. After Raetzman gave the Lancers a 2-0 lead, Izaiah Moraga doubled and then Aciel Guillen doubled him in one out later to make it 3-0. David Driskill followed with another double to make it 4-0 and then Anthony Milo doubled to make it 5-0.

Adan Koch Rodriguez opened up the bottom of the second with a single and he stole base and made it to third on a passed ball where he scored on a balk to make it 6-0. Johnny Abramian came up with a bunt single in the third inning to score Guillen and then Driskill came in on an error on the play for the 8-0 final. Connor Iniguez (7-4) got the start for the Eagles.

Flagstaff. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

THE PLAYS

THE INTERVIEWS

Izaiah Moraga holds up the championship trophy. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

Salpointe post game prayer. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)