That was a quick plot twist.

Odyssey Institute and ace Steven Vasquez were cruising and two outs from keeping its undefeated record intact. But Paradise Honors threw the program from Buckeye a curveball, scoring four unearned runs in the seventh to stun Odyssey Institute, 5-3, on the road.

Credit Paradise Honors’ base running for pressuring its opponent into some costly mistakes. Still, Odyssey Institute’s players likely went to bed Wednesday night kicking themselves for dropping their first game of the season.

Fielding mistakes, errant throws, pass balls and Paradise Honors’ three seventh inning hits ultimately did 3A Odyssey Institute in. Minus the mistakes, these two teams still impressed.

Each one started left-handed pitchers that could hold their own in 6A. Joey Collier, a United States Air Force Academy commit, only had one bad inning and struck out nine.

Odyssey Institute scored its three runs in the third inning, when Collier walked three and gave up two hits. The senior, however, also had the only extra base hit in the game, a triple in the seventh inning.

He eventually scored after a pass ball.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Collier about pulling out the victory. “It was a great team effort by everybody. Everybody did great. It was a fun game.”

Another lefty, Ethan Ashton, stepped in for Collier in the seventh and retired the side in order to close it for Paradise Honors.

Collier was familiar with his counterpart, the tall and talented Vasquez, as they’ve worked out together in the offseason. On Wednesday, Vasquez had his curveball and two-seamer humming.

The senior had allowed only an infield single and fanned 10 through 6.1 innings of work before the wheels fell off defensively.

“Tomorrow’s practice will actually be pretty good,” Vasquez said. “We lost that game. Nobody beat us.

“Just learn from it. Focus a little bit more. It humbles you for sure.”

Steven VasquezWith the win, Paradise Honors, a 4A program in Surprise, improved to 8-2, and Odyssey Institute, the top-ranked team in 3A, dropped to 10-1.

The game also featured two coaches with 20-plus combined years of playing experience in the minor leagues.

Paradise Honors’ James Lofton, a first-year coach, also spent a season with the Boston Red Sox.

“We’re battling, man,” Lofton said. “We’re battling. We’re playing together. We’re having fun playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”

In 2002, Odyssey Institute’s Daniel Nelson became the first player drafted from Crenshaw High in Los Angeles since Darryl Strawberry.

“It was a solid effort by both teams,” Nelson said. “I thought both of the teams competed well all they way through seven innings. I’m not mad at my team at all. I’m really proud for the way they played.”