Brayden Kennedy is an NAU School of Communication student assigned to cover Flagstaff High School for AZPreps365.com

Despite the clouds blocking the sun and the wind blowing through Eagle Field, the Flagstaff Eagles (9-6 4A Conference, 6-4 Grand Canyon Region) were able to find light in a 7-6 victory over the Prescott Badgers (11-2, 7-2) on Thursday.

What started as a pitchers' duel between Flagstaff’s Connor Iniguez and Prescott's Travis Gates sharply turned into a one-run ball game late in the seventh inning.

Iniguez, who finished the game with six strikeouts, started things off with a pair of strikeouts in the top of the first inning. This set the tone for what Prescott would face the rest of the way. 

Gates answered back in the bottom half of the inning by forcing three weak-contact flyouts consecutively, retiring the top of the Flagstaff lineup.

A similar trend would follow until Flagstaff opened up the scoring in the third inning. After a passed ball advanced Payne Lowry into scoring position, Brody Johnson delivered an RBI single to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning.

“In the moment, I was just trying to do a job and move our runner over, but when I saw the opportunity to get things going by getting that run across, my whole mentality changed,” Johnson said.

A flurry of errors by Prescott in the fourth inning allowed the Eagles to take advantage of extra opportunities at the plate. This resulted in two more runs to extend the lead to 3-0. 

Iniguez returned to the mound in the fifth, showing no signs of fatigue. He struck out two more batters and held Prescott scoreless for the fifth consecutive inning, continuing to show his dominance.

“I just wanted to keep throwing and going right at them. If I get swing and misses and strikeouts, then I get swing and misses and strikeouts,” Iniguez said. “But, I also have to trust the defense behind me to make the plays that I know they can.”

The Eagles showed no signs of slowing down despite Prescott’s pitching change. William Horn entered the game and instantly had his back against a wall.

Flagstaff got the fifth inning going with an RBI single from Jace Adams, adding to the lead. Adams advanced to second on a passed ball and was quickly knocked in by Anthony Rosales, who picked up his second RBI of the season with a pinch-hit single. Aeneyas Clerry kept the inning alive, driving in Rosales on a ball misplayed by Prescott’s second baseman, extending the lead to 6-0 with an RBI. 

With the combination of a strong pitching performance from Iniguez and timely efforts from Flagstaff’s offense, things were looking good for the Eagles going into the sixth inning.

However, Ivan Schuster and Nick Martin started the top of the inning off with back-to-back line drive singles to left field. Iniguez then walked Lucas Tobin to load the bases with no outs, and Adrian Sanderford knocked in Schuster with an RBI groundout.

With runners on second and third, Cooper Magnett stepped in and delivered a hard-hit ball between first and second. The Eagles second baseman Lowry laid out for the ball but delivered a poor throw to first, allowing Martin and Tobin to cross the plate and cut the lead to 6-3.

Callander, staying hot, got things started offensively for the Eagles in the bottom half of the sixth inning with a hard-hit stand-up double down the left field line. A pick-off attempt by Prescott pitcher Parker Reed got over Magnett’s head, giving Callander a clear path to third base.

After a tough seven-pitch at-bat, Johnson won the battle, putting him on base for the fourth time this game, setting up a first-and-third situation with two outs.

Then, with a 1-2 count on the next batter, Johnson took off early, forcing Reed to step off and initiate a rundown. A wild throw to first base allowed Callander to score from third and extend Flagstaff’s lead to 7-3.

“We try to do a first-and-third play whenever we have a situation arises,” Eagles coach Kenny Macias said. “We let the batter get two strikes, then kind of play to see what happens. We work on just trying to get a good lead and getting into a run-down situation where he (Johnson) stays in the play without getting tagged, and it worked out for us.”

Iniguez returned to the mound for the top of the seventh, looking to complete the game.

Prescott’s nine-hole hitter, Brody Hanna, led off with a hard-hit single that just got past shortstop Will Carpenter. Then Iniquez hit Schuster and walked Martin, loading the bases for the Badgers. 

This would do it for Iniguez’s afternoon as Adams replaced him on the mound in a tough spot with bases loaded and no outs. 

Prescott’s dugout came to life, and energy sprang through their lineup. The batters looked more confident and relaxed at the plate — a contrast to earlier at-bats. With momentum shifting, it was clear the Badgers were looking to complete the comeback.

Adams walked the first two batters he faced, pulling Prescott to within 7-5 with the bases still loaded and no outs.

Magnett stepped up and delivered a hard-hit ground ball to second base. Lowry collected the ball and proceeded to turn a clean double play. The runner from third scored, but the Eagles just needed one more out to narrowly escape the Badgers' late-game surge.

With the tying run 90 feet away, Gates stepped into the box looking to be a hero. He got himself into a full count with an opportunity to extend the inning.

Adams took a deep breath and dialed in before delivering the determining pitch. He got the sign from his catcher and proceeded to fire a fastball that Gates could not catch up to, striking out swinging. 

With the win, the Eagles redeemed their earlier 14-5 loss to Prescott and managed to split the season series, a result that could shake things up down the line. Macias emphasized the importance of the victory and the implications it has going forward.

“Year to year, we start off playing well against some good teams and hit well, then we come into the region, and I think we take the region lightly. All the squads this year are pretty decent,” Macias said. “This win was huge for us, you know, I told the guys if you win today, you are going to throw a huge wrench into that pile, especially with the rankings.”

Next up, Flagstaff will host crosstown rival Coconino (6-8 4A Conference, 4-5 Grand Canyon Region) on April 21, and Prescott will travel to Mingus (5-9, 3-6) on the same day.