Santa Cruz beat St. Augustine 11-0 on Thursday to improve to 7-8 in power-ranking games and a better shot at a spot in the 2A Conference Play-In Tournament slated for Wednesday, April 24. Santa Cruz came in ranked No. 24 and St. Augustine (9-6) was ranked No. 12. Even with the loss, the Wolves appear to be in a stronger position for a play-in spot.

St. Augustine beat Santa Cruz 9-8 on Monday to split the series with the Dust Devils and the team has a little break before hosting No. 14 Chandler Prep (11-5) on Tuesday. Santa Cruz hosts No. 33 Tempe Prep (2-11) on Tuesday also.

Daniel Contreras got the start for Santa Cruz and he threw five innings for the win while picking up nine strikeouts with no hits. He was two walks shy of a perfect game. Contreras had a double and three RBI at the plate, Juan Juarez went 2-4 with a double and two RBI and Mason Brown went 2-4 with a home run and three RBI.

Owen Ernle took the mound for the Wolves and he collected seven strikeouts in the loss. Wyatt Almand and Diego Perez also saw pitching action. Sergio Cordova had the two walks for St. Augustine.

Owen Ernle. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)