Navajo Prep beats Zuni for district crown
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Navajo Prep senior Lucius Hale throws a pitch to the Zuni Thunderbirds on Thursday during a District 1-3A contest. The Eagles won the district title by scoring more runs than Zuni in the doubleheader.
ZUNI, N.M.
In a wild season finale, the Navajo Prep baseball team claimed the District 1-3A championship on Thursday against the Zuni Thunderbirds.
Navajo Prep (9-12, 7-1 in district) split the series with the T-Birds (11-7, 7-1), but the difference came down to run differential between the two squads.
Navajo Prep won the first contest 15-10, and Zuni exacted some revenge with a 10-9 triumph in the nightcap.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth with these boys, and I’m proud that they’re the district champs,” first-year Navajo Prep coach Trevor Smith said. “You know, all the hard work we put in for preseason, the early morning lifts, and the weekend practices really helped us a lot.”
In the opening game, the Eagles finished top of the seventh by plating eight runs, and Zuni made up half of those runs, with Prep coming out on top 15-10.
“That was huge,” Smith said of the late scoring sequence. “That kind of helped us lock us in for state, knowing that they had to beat us by six runs.”
In that last at-bat, the Eagles connected with five singles and a double as Zuni went through three pitchers to close out the top half.
“Everyone did their part, and everyone got the bats rolling,” senior ace pitcher Dayton Yazzie said. “It wasn’t just one person. Everyone had momentum going forward.
“I’m just proud of how we kept it going with our bats,” he said.
In the nightcap, Prep trailed 8-6 heading into the seventh, and with the bases loaded, Yazzie advanced home on a walk from Zuni relief pitcher Robert Dewa.
Left outfielder Dontayus Tsosie then nailed a two-run single for a 9-8 lead.
The T-Birds closed out the game by pushing across two unearned runs for a 10-9 win.
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Zuni Thunderbird Brion Hattie Jr. grounds out Navajo Prep runner Jacob Arviso at first base. Navajo Prep spit its doubleheader with the Zuni winning 15-10 in the first game before coming up short 10-9 in the second.
Despite losing the district title by four runs, Zuni coach Rhonan Begay was pleased with how his club performed.
“They scored four more runs than we did, but I’m really proud of my boys,” Begay said. “It’s great for this team because Zuni hasn’t had a winning record for quite some time, and these guys have done it two years in a row.
“They actually competed for a district title two years in a row, and that just shows the improvements we’re making within our program,” he added. “It’s a step in the right direction, and our ultimate goal is to win the district title.”
The Zuni team is losing five seniors, including left-handed pitcher Mekai Begay, who pitched 5.2 innings in the second game.
“We’re going to be back next season,” the Zuni coach said. “We had a great season, and I enjoyed being around the boys.”
Pick up Thursday’s Navajo Times at your local newsstands for a more in-depth story.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow