Crossland brothers lead Mountain Pointe past Campo Verde
April 19, 2024 by Ben Stapley, AZPreps365
Mountain Pointe still has a fighting chance to capture the 5A San Tan Region, but with only one game now remaining in the regular season, coach Max Pincus is more concerned with his team's play as it prepares for the playoffs.
Friday night at Campo Verde, Pincus liked what he saw in his ballclub, as the Pride took down the Coyotes, 6-2, in a crucial region contest.
Junior pitcher Brett Crossland threw at a high level for Mountain Pointe, scattering five hits over six innings while striking out nine and allowing one earned run.
"This was a good win for us and Brett pitched a great game," Pincus said afterward. "We know we can play with anyone in the state so it's important to be playing well heading into the postseason."
Mountain Pointe junior @brettcrosslandd strikes out one of nine Campo Verde batters Friday night, this one helping the Pride out of a 4th inning jam with runners on second and third base. Mt. Pointe beat Campo Verde in a 5A San Tan Region contest @mphs_athletics pic.twitter.com/cd0hbS8zTz
— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) April 20, 2024
Senior Connor Crossland, Brett's older brother, drove in three runs for the Pride. The first came on a sacrifice fly ball in the first inning that scored Luke Mann. The other two came in the fourth inning after Crossland hit a deep shot to right-center field for a triple. Mann and Cole Rogers scored to give the Pride a commanding 6-1 lead.
Manny Felix went 2-3 and drove in a run for Mountain Pointe, which built a 4-0 lead by the middle of the third inning. Before Felix's RBI single, Cesar Verduzco scored after a throwing error, and Sam Yeagar drove Connor Crossland home on a sacrifice fly ball.
Mountain Pointe picks up 3 runs in the top of the 3rd inning. Here Zach Stevens’ hard grounder results in a throwing error, allowing Cesar Verduzco to score for a 2-0 lead. Sam Yeager and Manny Felix added RBI hits for the Pride pic.twitter.com/XjX7T94j2O
— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) April 20, 2024
Yeagar also got the save by retiring the final three batters for the Pride, which collected 10 hits for the game.
Sean King went 2-4 and drove in a run for Campo Verde (14-11, 6-3), which dropped to third place in the region after Friday's contest.
Campo Verde loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning with only one out. But Brett Crossland got out of the inning with only one run scoring on a passed ball. That was Campo Verde's last real threat offensively.
"When Brett is locked in he can really take control of a ballgame," Pincus added.
Sean King’s base gives Wyatt Rauch a shot to score at home…which he somehow does despite the early throw, and @CampoVerde cuts the Mt. Pointe lead to 4-1 after 3 innings pic.twitter.com/YgO68udmUD
— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) April 20, 2024
Mountain Pointe (15-11, 7-2) entered the game No. 4 in the 5A power rankings, while Campo Verde was No. 6. The two teams will finish the regular season Monday at Mountain Pointe.
