Liam Archer is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Master's student assigned to cover Phoenix Country Day School for AZPreps365.com

PARADISE VALLEY – The Phoenix Country Day Eagles dominated The Phoenix of Tonopah Valley Tuesday, winning 7-1 behind Cole Sorosky’s 11 strikeouts. It is the Eagles’ second win over The Phoenix this season.

Sorosky pitched five innings, giving up three hits and three walks and allowing only the one run. The 11 punch-outs push Sorosky into the lead in the 2A division for strikeouts with 43 on the season.

“I was a little out of my mojo,” Sorosky said, “but I eventually found my groove and it worked out toward the end of the game.”

In the opening frame, Sorosky surrendered a single and a walk on consecutive at-bats to Tonopah Valley’s (2-4) pitching and catching battery of Isaac Pasillas and Mathew Hernandez. Sorosky was able to strand the two and avoid any damage early. 

Despite avoiding the early traffic,  Sorowsky was forced to throw 26 pitches in the first inning to The Phoenix. “He wasn’t as sharp as he usually is,” PCD head coach Kai Etheridge said. “He was battling deep in counts in the early going, but he dug in and ended up pitching really well.”

Second baseman Adam Burns agreed. “He didn’t even have his best stuff today," said Burns, "but he battled through and almost pitched a shutout."

Through the first two innings, both teams struggled to knock runners in, combining for eight runners left on base, with Phoenix Country Day (5-1) having the only run to show for it. 

The Eagles struggled to get their offense going due to some self-inflicted wounds on the basepaths. “We had some bad baserunning today,” Etheridge said. “It took the wind out of our sails; it definitely killed some rallies.”

Tonopah Valley was able to tie the game up at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning. Martin Quinonez reached on a walk and proceeded to steal second, then third, finally scoring on an overthrow.

Phoenix Country Day responded emphatically, scoring six runs in the bottom half of the inning.

A walk, a single and a runner reaching on a dropped third strike allowed the Eagles to load the bases for Tim Moriarty, who leads 2A in home runs with four and is fifth in slugging percentage. Moriarty one-hopped the left field wall, driving in one to give Phoenix Country Day the 2-1 lead.

Burns followed up Moriarty’s single with one of his own, scoring two more as the Eagles broke things open. 

“I’ve had some struggles hitting this year, so it felt great,” Burns said. “I came up with the mindset that all I needed was a single.”

All nine Eagles would come to bat in the bottom of the fourth, tallying six runs on five hits, knocking Pasillas out of the game.

Sorosky finished strong, striking out the remaining five batters he faced, the last three all going down swinging on heat. “I just love striking people out,” Sorosky said with a big smile.

Etheridge was impressed with the way Sorosky locked in over the course of the game.

“A really good pitcher is still able to compete, even when they don’t have their best stuff,” Etherdige said, “and he really showed what a competitor he was out there today.”

The senior earned his third win in the early season, and owns a 0.97 ERA in five appearances.

Phoenix Country Day (5-1) visits Tempe Prep (2-2) on Wednesday.