Daniel Lins is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Buckeye Union High School for AZPreps365.com.

Behind numerous errors in the field, Buckeye fell behind early and was playing catch-up the whole game against Coconino in their 8-3 loss.

The Hawks tied the game at one run apiece in the second inning before two runs in the top of the third crossed the plate courtesy of a Coconino double, followed by a wild pitch, RBI triple, and finally, an RBI single off the bat of Adrian Marquez made the score 3-1 after the top of the third. Buckeye failed to get a run across the plate in the bottom of the inning.

No team expects to have more than five errors in a game, and head coach Kevin Battaglia said postgame.

“We have been practicing infield and outfield situations a lot, just doing the little things, but you never know how it will go until you actually start competing," Battaglia said. "We failed to do the little things, the things we have spent a lot of time practicing.”

Naturally, there are a lot of nerves on opening night, regardless of what level of baseball you play. That is no exception for seniors Adrian Rodriguez or Brandon Compton, even though Compton is committed to Arizona State for baseball.

“With it being my first game of my senior year, playing in front of the home crowd, I was a little nervous to begin, but I got into it after a bit. However, the game did not end how I wanted it to,” Rodriguez said.

Brandon Compton is looking forward to playing for ASU next season, but for now, he has his eyes set on finishing high school strong and have a great senior season.

“Like always, I am a nervous person, whether I am pitching or hitting. It is only natural for me to come out with a little nervousness,” Compton said.

Compton believes he had a good opening night even though the game did not end how he wanted it to in the scoring column. He is looking on the bright side and feels like he has a good basis for the season with a lot to build on.

Head coach Kevin Battaglia has confidence the team will work out their mishaps, both on offense and defense, before they hit the road for a matchup against Marcos de Niza on March 1.