This past Friday, Feb. 27, our Horizon Honors high school baseball team played against Chino Valley High School. The boys played well, but unfortunately we lost with a score of six to three.

The first inning started off on a high note in the field, with the whole team working together to let no runs come in. The boys had great teamwork, Senior pitcher Bryce Pharr struck out three players, making the Eagles up to bat. Junior Joseph Holguin was up to the plate. Holguin hit an infield single, then junior Chase Edwards was up. While Edwards was at bat, Holguin managed to steal second. Then, Edwards hit a pop fly double, while Holguin was tagged out at third base. No runs were scored this inning leaving the score zero to zero.

Second inning the boys played good defensively in the outfield and didn’t allow any runs to come in. Pharr got on first base and then advanced to second on the catcher’s error, followed by stealing third on a wild pitch. Next, sophomore Spencer Brown got walked to first, followed by junior Connor Sorrells up at bat. Sorell got a single, with Brown advancing to second and Pharr coming home. Next at bat was sophomore Jacob Johnson, who got on first, followed by Brown coming home. Johnson stole second. Holguin was up to bat and ended up walking to first due to getting hit by a pitch. The inning ended with the score at two to zero.

During third inning with Pharr pitching and Brown catching, the boys demonstrated good teamwork and were in sync with each other, working to strike players out. One run came in for Chino and the half-inning ended when Holguin caught a pop fly in center field. With already one out, Sorell was up to bat, getting a double. Next up at the plate was Brown, who made a bunt, allowing Sorrells to advance to third.  Johnson hit a pop fly down center field, advancing to first base and Sorell getting out. After two more outs, the score was at two to one.

During the fourth inning, Chino Valley scored, bringing the score to two to two with the Eagles behind by one run. Bottom of the fourth,  Horizon was up to bat, but unfortunately, no one hit the ball, resulting in no runs and getting three outs. The score was at a tie of two to two.

Fifth inning, Chino Valley had no runs in, leaving Horizon Honors up to bat. Pharr hit the ball to the first baseman, who dropped the ball securing Pharr a spot on first. Next, Edwards was walked to first and and later came home bringing the score three to two to tie the game.

Sixth inning Chino Valley ended up bringing four runs in, with Brown tagging the player at home plate and making the third out bringing the score six to three. The Eagles got three strikeouts, which brought the game to the bottom of the seventh inning.

Seventh inning Senior Garrett Leake made a great catch on second base. Chino got three outs, bringing no runs in. With the Eagles at bat, Holguin walked, followed by Leake’s strikeout. Then Edwards walked, followed by two strikeouts.

Pharr got eight impressive strikeouts throughout the entire game. Overall, the game was fun to watch and the boys held their own. Come support the baseball team at their next game on Tuesday, Mar. 3, at 4 p.m.