SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Putnam City fell twice on the opening day of the Best of the West festival in the Phoenix area Monday (March 17).
CHEROKEE TRAIL (COLO.) 12, PUTNAM CITY 0
The Pirates were held scoreless by the Cougars, who are a 5A school in Colorado. Senior Lukas Poindexter had a double in the center field. Fellow senior Connor Fast was 2-for-3.
Sophomore Bryson Vanover and sophomore Jared Potter each had a hit.
The Pirates struck out 10 times in the loss.
Cherokee Trails collected 15 hits and scored five runs in the sixth inning for the run-rule win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee Trail (Colo.) (4-1) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| Putnam City (1-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
CHEROKEE TRAIL – 2B: Charlie Kroell, Landon Olds, Peyton Michlig. 3B: Landon McWilliams. HR: Cannon Zubeck. SF: Landon McWilliams, Luca Salvato. SB: Landon McWilliams 2, Harper Knopp. CS: Brody Ceyrolles.
PUTNAM CITY – 2B: Lukas Poindexter. HBP Brandon Bennett, JT Twillie. SB: JT Twillie. E: Jared Potter, Lukas Poindexter.
CACTUS SHADOWS (ARIZ.) 22, PUTNAM CITY 0
The host Falcons (a 4A Arizona school) allowed only one Putnam City hit in five innings and jumped out to a big lead, scoring five runs in the first inning and nine runs in the second inning.
Fast had the Pirates’ lone hit, a single to leadoff the game. Seniors JT Twillie, Andrew Simon, freshman Damon Hopkins and junior Austin Clifton each had a walk.
Twillie was also hit by a pitch and stole four bases in the loss.
The Pirates committed five errors.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam City (1-7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Cactus Shadows (Ariz.) (6-0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 22 | 13 | 1 |
PUTNAM CITY – HBP: JT Twillie, Lukas Poindexter. SB: JT Twillie 4, Andrew Simon, Henry Thein. CS: JT Twillie. E: Bryson Vanover 2, Connor Fast, Henry Plata, Jordan Billingslea.
CACTUS SHADOWS – 2B: Brody Viavattene, Carter Brown, Dominic Ziccarelli, Henry Verhamme, Keyen Marquez. HR: Dominic Ziccarelli, Evan Hanish, Jack Scully, Lucca Palma. HBP: Keyen Marquez. SB: Henry Verhamme 3, Aiden Corley, Carter Brown, Dallas Dunn, Jack Scully, Max Benson. E: Evan Hanish.
UP NEXT
Putnam City faces Boulder Creek (Ariz.) and Lake Havasu (Ariz.) in Surprise (Ariz.) Tuesday (March 18).
West Metro Sports 