Bishop Gorman defeated Canyon del Oro 9-0 in the championship game of the Chris Moon Memorial Classic on Friday afternoon at Cherry Field. It was a game that featured the defending Nevada Division I state champions against the defending Arizona D-II state champions.

The Gaels finished their season ranked second in the nation with a 33-3 record and the Dorados came in fifth with a record of 32-3. Those two teams were also similar in one other major aspect, Bishop Gorman graduated 12 seniors including almost all of their starters while Canyon del Oro graduated nine seniors. Like Bishop Gorman, the CDO seniors were all starters and they all moved on to the next level.

Power programs find a way to reload rather than rebuild and that's what both programs have done this year. The Gaels are 9-1 this year and the Dorados are 12-4 including the championship of the Arizona National Invitational Tournament last Thursday.

"Baseball is the toughest sport to win a state championship in Nevada because of the high level of competition," Bishop Gorman head coach Gino DiMaria explained. "So we have to get ready and we are in the same situation as CDO with all the starters we lost."

DiMaria has a long relationship with Tucson High head coach Oscar Romero. Their 20 plus years together has created a bond that was only made stronger due to the death of former Badger Chris Moon and the renaming of the tournament to honor his memory.

"The one thing about us is that we honor our veterans and the military," DiMaria added. "When Oscar asked us to come out we said absolutely. It is an honor for us to be here to help recognize Chris Moon."

Romero will return the favor and will travel to Las Vegas next week to take part in the Bishop Gorman Desert Classic.

Junior Matt Mitchell took the mound for the Gaels and he threw a two-hit shutout through five innings to keep the vaunted Dorado lineup at bay. The Pepperdine commit also picked up 10 strikeouts while senior Brian Coffey collected two more in relief.

The baseball season is a long one, and games played during invitationals aren't included in the playoff power ranking equation, but the game against the Gaels was another test for the Dorados.  A lack of focus can be deadly in the regular season but it is a learning experience in cases like this.

"This was our worst game," said CDO stabdout Tyler Porter. "There are no excuses for what happened but we were all chasing pitches and had a lack of intensity."

The Gaels scored two in the first, two in the third, three in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Senior Beau Capanna led the way with a single and a home run and sophomore Austin Wells added a single and a triple.

Wells is the son of former University of Arizona standout Greg Wells and has committed to catch for Stanford.