Joseph City split their two final games of the regular season shutting out Ash Fork/Seligman on Monday, then dropping a two-run decision to Mogollon on Tuesday. With the split, they finished the regular season ranked eighth in the 1A rankings with a 10-7 regular season record.
Hosting the Spartans on Monday, the Wildcats started well with four first-inning runs. They added two more in the third and another four in the fourth to win the game 10-0.
Owen Beatty had a solid day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a triple and a double. Kelton Chairez was 2 for 3 with two RBI. Zane Johnson was 2 for 3 with a double and Blake Palmer also went 2 for 3.
Damarcus Bufford pitched two innings with two walks and one strikeout. Chairez worked two innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts. Beatty pitched one inning with two strikeouts.
In their season finale, Mogollon posted three runs in the bottom of the first and that lead held until the Wildcats scored once in the top of the fourth. Joseph City temporarily knotted the game 3-3 with two runs in the top of the sixth. Mogollon opened up the lead again with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Joseph City scored one final run in the seventh before losing 4-6.
Joseph City finished with just three hits in the game. Johnson went 1 for 4 and Jareon Miller was 2 for 3 with an RBI.
Bannon Johnstun worked 5.1 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits with four strikeouts. Chairez pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit with one walk.
Joseph City entered the 1A state playoffs as the No. 8 seed then hosted No. 9 Desert Heights Prep on Saturday. The Wildcats started well with two in the bottom of the first. The Coyotes cut the lead in half with a run in the second. Desert Heights took the lead with four in the top of the fifth. Joseph City caught and passed the ninth seed for good with a nine-run sixth inning. They shut down the Coyotes in the top of the seventh to advance with an 11-5 win.
Beatty went 3 for 4, with a home run and also had three stolen bases. Brody Penrod was 2 for 4 with a double. Palmer went 1 for 3 also with a double. Johnstun was 2 for 3, and Jareon Miller went 2 for 4.
Johnstun pitched 4.2 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Penrod worked two frames, giving up just one run with three walks.
With the first-round win, the Wildcats have advanced to the quarterfinal round where they now meet up with the top-seeded Lobos in Hayden at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Hayden has a 14-2 regular season record and defeated No. 16 Ash Fork/Seligman 23-0 in their first-round game.
Joseph City and Hayden played a doubleheader back on March 30, with the Lobos winning the first game 15-0 and the second 12-2. If Joseph City can pull off the upset, they would face either No. 4 St. David, or No. 5 Anthem Prep in the semifinal round at Tempe Diablo Stadium on May 12.
