YC ends regular season on high note

Jared Peach watched Jayson Koppinger break a Yuma Catholic school record with 17 strikeouts against Antelope on Mar. 27.

This time around, Peach came through with a milestone of his own on the mound against the Rams.

The junior right-hander pitched a five-inning no-hitter Friday, striking out nine and walking three to pace the Shamrocks to a 10-0 run-ruled victory in the regular-season finale at Yuma Catholic.

"He's probably been our most consistent starter all year," YC coach Tom Kandler said of Peach. "He's still learning, and every time out he seems to get a little bit better. He just threw excellent."

The Shamrocks (19-9 overall, 10-2 2A West) scored in all four innings that it batted and banged out 13 hits.

YC leadoff hitter Eric Garcia went 3-for-3 with a single, double, triple and a pair of runs scored. Erick Martinez, Bobby Rodriguez and Mike Brazeel also had a pair of hits.

Antelope had four baserunners the whole game. Isiah Guerrero reached twice - once on a walk and another time on an error.

"We worked very hard on keeping the ball inside and keeping them from extending their arms, but we've got to catch the ball," Antelope coach Ron Bratton said. "Obviously, (YC) is a better team than us. I just want our kids to play better than that."

Already up 2-0 in the third, Rodriguez smashed a two-run double to right-center field and Brazeel added an RBI single.

The Shamrocks struck for five runs in the bottom of the fourth to put themselves in position to end the game early.

Both teams begin postseason play this Monday. YC stays home, while Antelope hits the road.

"We did a lot of manufacturing of runs when we needed to, kids sacrificed at-bats to help the team," Kandler said. "It's a good win. If we can play close to that (in the playoffs) we've got a shot."