Cactus Shadows seeks offensive consistency
Marc Buckhout ~ Managing Editor ~ 03/24/2010

The bar is set pretty high when you score 20 runs in the opening game of the season.
After coming out on fire to start 2010 the Cactus Shadow Falcons baseball team has seen the offense come and go during the team’s 6-6 start.
Under first year coach Mike Baker, who inherited the 2009 Desert Sky Region champions, a group that went 22-7 in 2009, the Falcons are still searching for more consistency offensively.
In Thursday’s region contest Scottsdale Saguaro senior Kurt Jahnke was dominant at times, striking out eight Falcons in six innings of work, in handing Cactus Shadows a 5-1 loss.
“We need to relax as hitters,” Baker said. “You get off to a slow start and you see your average isn’t where you want it and you try and fix it all in one swing. It’s going to be a one at bat at a time to start getting to where we should be.”
The Falcons got on the scoreboard first against the host Sabercats, manufacturing a run as senior lead-off man Logan Davis followed a single to open the game by stealing third and then coming home on a dropped third strike, breaking for home when the Sabercats catcher threw down to first to record the out.
The lead would be short-lived.
In the bottom of the opening inning Falcons pitcher Jaron Long got into trouble as a one-out walk and a then a single brought sophomore Chris Akmon to the plate. Akmon’s 3-run home run to right field put the Sabercats in the lead to stay.
“We were facing one of the best pitchers in the state so we knew that runs would be at a premium,” Baker said. “Overall Jaron pitched real well, but you saw the game, that first inning obviously took the momentum out of our dugout and gave it to them.”
A week removed from a region opening win, a 7-0 blanking of McClintock, the Falcons would struggle against Jahnke.
After giving up two hits in the opening inning, one to Davis and one to third baseman Brent Nurre, Jahnke faced the minimum number of Falcons over the next four innings.
While the Falcons offense was getting nowhere Long settled into a rhythm of his own, keeping Cactus Shadows within striking distance as Reed Austin’s solo home run in the third was the only hit that the right hander allowed from the second through the bottom of the fifth.
Down 4-1 the Falcons would have their only serious scoring threat in the sixth inning. Davis, who went 2-of-3 for the game, got a one-out single to center to get the inning started. When Long drew a two-out walk Nurre came up, representing the potential tying run at the plate.
Instead Jahnke induced a ground ball to the right side, getting over to cover first base on the chopper as the pitcher narrowly beat a head-first sliding Nurre to the bag.
Saguaro tacked on an insurance run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth, as the Falcons managed to avoid further damage as left fielder Cameron Larson and Davis combined on a relay to throw out a potential sixth run at home, when Cactus Shadows catcher Connor Sabanosh took the throw from Davis and blocked the plate to get the final out of the inning.
While Saguaro coach Ryan Dyer turned to senior Josh Chapman to pitch the seventh the Falcons would see no change in the results. The closer struck out two, giving Sabercats pitchers 10 strikeouts for the game, in a 1-2-3 inning to close out the victory.
Despite the loss Baker said he’s confident the team has the potential to bounce back.
“I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of what we can do offensively,” he said. “If we can keep battling and get our offense going our pitching has been fantastic.”
Along with Long, Baker praised the work of junior Ryan Nemger on the mound.
The Falcons returned home this week for a pair of region contests, hosting Queen Creek on Tuesday (results unavailable at press time) and Apache Junction Thursday, before a non-region contest at Notre Dame on Saturday.
“Things aren’t going to get any easier,” Baker said. “We’re playing some good teams, so we’re going to have to keep battling.”