Navajo Prep steps out of its comfort zone at Chinle baseball tournament

CHINLE

Navajo Prep baseball coach Isaac Johnson noticed a difference in pitching styles between New Mexico and Arizona prep athletes.

The Eagles took part in the Canyon de Chelly Invitational late last week where Navajo Prep went 3-1 with wins over Hopi (7-0), Monument Valley (8-1), and Many Farms (14-1). The Eagles fell short to tournament host Chinle by a 13-1 decision.

“Everyone we faced here were Arizona teams and we got to see a bunch of different things,” Johnson said. “We got to see a lot of off-speed pitches. You know, a lot of things we see back in New Mexico are inside pitches and a lot of things we saw here were outside pitches.”

The second-year coach said it was good to get outside of their comfort zone and he praised the Chinle team and their fans.

“They’re just so competitive and, you know, what we love is their energy, especially their fans,” he said. “The energy they bring is like going to a golf tournament. They just bring a lot of energy, and it was good to be able to get out here and play Chinle on their home field.”

Against the Wildcats, Navajo Prep got on board first with senior Khol Johnson singling, scoring Dontayus Tsosie, who earned a walk.

After Chinle recorded the Eagles’ third out, the Wildcats scattered five hits on junior starter Jashyro Bileen for five runs to close out the opening frame.

Sophomore Keith Dodge then pitched three innings in relief as he allowed five hits and seven runs while striking out four and walking seven.

Chinle started the game with sophomore pitcher Delaine Shorty as he went 1.2 innings on the mound. Seniors Hage Tsosie and Covington Jones came in relief with Jones striking out four batters in two innings of work.

“At first we came out strong, and we were pretty disciplined,” Johnson said. “After that, their pitcher (Covington) did an awesome job on the bump. He kept us under control, and he maintained us. He pitched amazing and he kept us from hitting balls to the outfield. He made sure we had ground balls, and easy outs. He kept everything in the infield.

“He made his defense work, and when you get a pitcher that pitches ground balls and get easy outs at first and second that goes a long way, so kudos to him.”

Chinle finished with 10 hits and the Wildcats were led by Duane Ayze, Kaleb Guy, and Jones as they finished with two hits each.

Navajo Prep has four nondistrict games remaining. They are scheduled to play at Rehoboth Christian today in a doubleheader today. The Eagles also has a doubleheader with Laguna Acoma on April 14 and a single game with Hózhó Academy on April 21.

“They’re gonna bring their dudes at us and it’s gonna be a good competition,” Johnson said of the team’s three nondistrict opponents. “You can’t take anyone lightly.”

As for the five-team district, which includes Tohatchi, Zuni, Thoreau, and Wingate, Johnson expects the Cougars to give them a run for their money as the Eagles are looking to defend their district crown.

“I think Tohatchi is going to give us a good run,” Johnson said. “We’re expecting Tohatchi to come out and it should be a really close game. We’re not going to take them lightly, by no means.

“We really haven’t had a chance to look at the rest of the teams in our district, but I do know Tohatchi is going to be strong. They were strong at the end of last year but, yeah, we can’t take anyone lightly.”

The Eagles has five players in its pitching rotation headed by Bileen.

“I would list Jashyro Bileen as our No. 1 and Khol Johnson as No. 2,” Navajo Prep pitching coach Chris Spencer said. “We have a strong running for No. 3 between Liam Begay, Keith Dodge and Dontayus Tsosie. They’ve all shown great improvement.

“They all throw good, consistent fastballs,” Spencer added about his pitching corps. “We’re trying to work a lot on location, you know, establish inside. We’re working with the off-speed pitch, too.”

Since he arrived at the start of the season, Spencer says his pitchers have added more to their toolbelt.

“A lot of the boys here didn’t have a slider when first got here, but now they developed a slider,” he said. “Right now, we’re really starting to hone in on the change up.”

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