How does a baseball team recover from a 28-5 loss?

If you’re the Sabercats from Scottsdale Saguaro, you do it with focus and perseverance.

After the debacle against Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep on Saturday night (March 23) at Arizona State’s Packard Stadium, the Sabercats rebounded with three straight victories this week.

The first came on Tuesday (March 26), a 3-2 escape against Queen Creek. Next was a 16-6 triumph over Scottsdale Coronado on Wednesday (March 27).

And on Thursday night (March 28), the pieces finally were all put back together with a 12-2 trouncing of Phoenix Arcadia on a cable telecast at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

The victory made up for a 12-1 setback to Arcadia in the Scottsdale Invitational in February.

The win over Arcadia gave Saguaro a 10-10 record, while Arcadia fell to 8-11.

Saguaro did it with timely hitting, solid pitching and one of the best defensive plays you will see anywhere.

Saguaro, the old Class 4A Division I champion in 2010 and 2011, scored six runs in the first inning, including a two-run double by Shane Stansbury. The Sabarcats also took advantage of three walks.

That allowed sophomore right-hander Luke Eigsti to pitch with little or no pressure. He scattered six hits and gave up two runs in six innings. Junior left-hander Nick Meservey took over in the seventh and retired the side, the last two on strikeouts.

The big defensive play was made by junior shortstop Turner Lace.

With an Arcadia runner at third base, Lace turned and tracked a high pop fly into shallow left field. With his back to the plate, Lace turned and fired the ball to the plate to nail the runner attempting to score.

Arcadia freshman Sam Huff showed flashes of potential, collecting a hit and playing first base. He likely will move to catcher next year after senior Max Schuman graduates.

And Arcadia senior right-hander Luke Pine did his best to steady himself after that rough first inning. He picked a runner off first base a few innings later.