Snowflake’s final regular season win over Show Low on Monday of last week allowed them to finish the season ranked 13th in the 3A rankings meaning they were to host a play-in game on Wednesday. Tonopah Valley was Wednesday’s opponent after finishing ranked in the 20th position. Snowflake won that game by four runs advancing them to the first round of the 3A state playoffs which are set to begin on Tuesday this week.
Their regular-season finale over the Cougars was close through the first four innings. The Lobos scored twice in the bottom of the second, only to see Show Low match that with two in the top of the third. Snowflake edged in front with a single run in the fourth. Leading 3-2 they opened the game up with a four-run fifth, then padded that cushion with two in the sixth before winning the game 9-2.
The win also secured the 3A east region crown for the Lobos. They finished with an 8-2 mark, one better than Blue Ridge’s 7-3 record. Winslow and Show Low tied for third with 6-4 records.
In the Show Low game, Braden Frost went 1 for 1, with a triple. Brevin Matthews was 1 for 4, as was Ashton Munger. Skip Bawden was 2 for 3; Kenyan Bryant, 2 for 4 with a double; Aaden Coor, 1 for 2; Easton Butler, 2 for 3; and Jhett Yellowhair went 2 for 4 with a triple.
Skip Bawden pitched six innings giving up just two runs on six hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts. Ashton Munger worked the final frame with two walks and two strikeouts while not allowing a hit or a run.
Tonopah Valley entered the play-in game with a 9-9 regular season record and had finished fifth in the 3A west region standings. Their lower ranking and playing in Snowflake didn’t bother them through the first inning and a half, where they scored twice and held a brief 2-0 lead. Snowflake wiped away that lead with six runs in the second frame then added two more in the fourth, extending the margin to 8-2. Phoenix scored three more runs, but Snowflake comfortably won the game 9-5 to advance to the state playoffs with their 17-9 overall record.
As the lower seed, the 13th-ranked Lobos will travel to face fourth-seeded Pusch Ridge Academy on Tuesday. The Lions went 7-0 in winning the 3A South region this season. If Snowflake can find a way to upset the fourth seed, they would play at either No. 12 Tanque Verde or No. 5 Yuma Catholic in the quarterfinal round at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
