Baseball is all about numbers. Everything is calculated from hits to walks. Sometimes, the ability to play the game the right way is lost when the number of wins a coach has overshadows the character displayed on the field but Matt Denny and Oscar Romero have shown the ability to lead young men is not a lost art.

Denny led No. 5 Greenway to the Division II state championship Tuesday night over No. 9 Tucson at Tempe Diablo Stadium but the 7-4 victory proved to be just part of the bigger story.

For some, Romero's third attempt at a state title will be the main focus considering the 29 state championship the Badgers have collected over the last 100 years or so. For others, Denny winning his seond championship in three years will be the lead story. Oh, but there's so much more.

Denny gathered his team together before the state playoffs started to inform them of his pending departure to coach Mountain Pointe. It was not an easy decision for him. Denny was an assistant coach for five years at Greenway before taking over in 2007. Three state championship appearances and two titles later, his decision began to wear on him.

"My decision started to consume me," Denny said "I began to think about little things like putting the hose away for the last time but I'm an emotional guy. I wondered how the guys would respond after I told them I was leaving. Winning always takes bad feelings away."

Winning will mend lots of things but so will the gentle guidance of a father figure like Romero.  Romero has been part of the Badger progam since long before his current crop of athletes were born. He was an assistant coach when the Badgers won back-to-back championships in 1987 and 1988 and he has been the main guy since 1990.

He has somehow managed to connect with a younger and younger generation, always with a calm and fatherly voice. His players have always responded.

"I told them I was proud of them for getting back in this position," Romero said. "This is all a tribute to them and they showed the ability to right the ship when I thought all was lost. We had a five-game losing streak this year but they somehow found a way. Through it all, I'm proud they play the game the right way."

Tucson (23-10) struck first on an RBI-single from Rick Martinez in the top of the first inning and another run crossed the plate after George Arias reached on an infield error but Bryce Mackey (9-3) escaped further damage after the Badgers were caught twice on a double-steal attempt. In all, the Demons committed three errors in the inning, helping the the Badgers to a 2-0 lead.

Greenway (23-9) came right back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI-groundout from Justin Freeman followed by a Badger error to tie the game up 2-2.

Greenway took the lead in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Matthew McDonald. Oddly, all of the runs scored by the Demons in the first two innings came without a hit recorded against Arias (5-2) as both teams combined for five errors.

The errors continued for the Demons in the top of the third with an error advancing the runners and a passed ball allowing Luis Samorano to scamper home from third. Samarano walked to start the inning off.

"Both teams had championship gitters I think," Mackey offered. "But it's a long game and we actually had a talk yesterday about playing with poise under pressure."

Greenway broke through in the hit column in the bottom of the third with Kona Quiggle and Freeman coming up with back-to-back singles to start things off but Arias caught a screamer off the bat of Riley Miller and then threw Freeman out at first to end the threat.

The Demons used the "hidden ball trick" to get out of a jam in the top of the fourth and then turned around with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 5-3 lead on the Badgers. Arias gave way to Jose Contreras with two outs in the frame with a massive double by McDonald being key for the Demons.

The Badgers got one back in the top of the fifth after Garcia knocked in Anthony Figueroa but the Demons added two more in the bottom half on a two-RBI single by Macias to give Greenway a 7-4 lead.

Mackey handed the ball to Jared Kenyon (7-1) in the sixth after the Badgers put two on with two outs but Kenyon closed the door. The door opened again in the top of the seventh after the Badgers loaded the bases with two outs on two hit-batters and a walk but Kenyon recovered and he induced a pop fly to end the game.

"Coach called the hidden ball play and we usually use it with out of town teams in a tight situation," Mackey added. "It always gives us a chance.

"Coach is leaving for Mountain Pointe so I'm glad it worked. He's going to do great things there and we got to send him off with a win."

 

Game photos will be available at MaxPreps.com