Besting Chino Valley and Scottsdale Christian in the opening rounds of the state playoffs, the Falcons are now set to head into the semi-finals this Friday, May 16, with a game hosted out of Surprise Stadium at 6:30 p.m.

The Falcons will be playing Tucson Palo Verde this Friday evening and, if successful, they’ll go on to compete in the state championship match-up Saturday night in the same location, with first pitch set for 7 p.m.

“We know nothing about Tucson Palo Verde at the moment,” said head coach Mike Briguglio in an interview on Monday morning.

“We’ve never played them or even seen them play, so it’ll be an interesting game.”

Briguglio said his hopes are high for a potential state championship repeat this year, especially after seeing how well the Falcons performed in their first two rounds of the tournament.

“We hope everyone can make the trip out, show some support and watch some good baseball,” he said.

Chino Valley

The Falcons began their run through the state tournament against Chino Valley. It’s a team that, a week earlier, had beat the Falcons by a score of 3-0, claiming the section title in the process.

While the Falcons may have dropped down to runner-up for the section this year, however, they weren’t about to let Chino Valley claim a second win in a row, going on to earn their own 3-0 victory and oust their former rivals from the tournament.

“What was really satisfying about that win was that we corrected a lot of the mistakes we had made the week before,” Briguglio said.

“We had no errors, versus four a week before. We didn’t give up any bases on wild pitches and we executed several successful sacrifices. So, basically, we did the little things right and the score reversed.”

Pitcher Nick Wojtysiak threw a two-hit shutout this outing, striking out nine in the process.

The Falcons scored two runs in the third, then added a third and final notch to the scoreboard in the sixth.

“All of our runs were manufactured,” Briguglio added.

“We got guys on, then moved them around the bases to score. We also had seven hits this game, which was better than the week before.”

Paul Bryniarski had two hits this outing, including a double and a run scored. Nick Wojtysiak also landed an RBI.

Scottsdale Christian

Back on the field less than 24 hours later, the Falcons were set to take on Scottsdale Christian Saturday afternoon, May 10, going on to claim an impressive 11-1 victory in a run-rule shortened five innings.

“We had beaten them earlier in the year on a run rule, too, but we were tied at 1-1 in the third inning,” Briguglio said.

“Then we had a seven-run inning and that helped seal the deal.”

Devin Foyle pitched the full five, giving up three hits and striking out five along the way.

“You don’t really expect wins like that in the state tournament, but we played well,” Briguglio added.

“We only gave up five hits and one run in two games, with no errors and great hitting.

“You have to play your best baseball this time of the year, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Cory Kukkola had a hit and two runs this outing with Paul Bryniarski getting two hits including a run and an RBI.

Andrew Bryniarski had a hit, a run and an RBI while Devin Foyle put in three hits, including a triple and five RBIs.

Nick Wojtysiak had a triple and an RBI, Cole Miles had an RBI and Johnny Rodakis got in two runs.