By Chris Roth

Wednesday’s matchup between rivals Pinnacle and Horizon was perhaps a final chance to see two coaching legends square off after almost four decades of competition.

Pinnacle’s Roy Muller, who came out of retirement after 38 years and 624 wins at Paradise Valley to take over Pinnacle’s baseball team at the start of the season, and Horizon’s Eric Kibler, who has led Horizon for 35 years, know this is the time of the year to sharpen your game.

“I was enjoying retirement, but I missed the game.” Muller said.

An error aided Pinnacle to score two runs with two outs in the bottom of the second, and it added three runs in the fourth for a 5-2 victory at home.

Pinnacle only collected six hits but was able to make them count.

Junior right-hander Justin Nelson pitched five innings for Pinnacle (19-8) and was the beneficiary of shaky fielding by Horizon. His offense came through with three runs in the fourth inning to put the finishing touches on the victory.

Right-hander Andrew Donovan pitched into the fifth for Horizon (17-10) but was unable to pitch around his defense.

Junior center fielder Evan Williams, an Oregon commitment, paced Horizon with three hits and an RBI.

“It’s time for the playoffs,” Pinnacle senior Riley Hamel said.

Chris Roth is a sports journalism student at Arizona State.