The Falcon baseball squad had a split week of close games this past week, besting Scottsdale Christian 8-6 in a come-from-behind victory before dropping a back-and-forth battle against Saguaro, 5-4.

These games brought the Falcons’ regular season to a close at 24-5, ranking number one in MaxPreps’ Power Ratings and third in Power Points by the AIA.

The Falcons enter the state tournament this Friday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. at the Surprise sports complex. The Falcons will play the winner of the Snowflake/Page game on field number four.

If victorious, the Falcons’ run will continue in Surprise on Saturday, May 5, at 1 p.m.

“I think the season has prepared us well for the state tournament,” said head coach Mike Briguglio.

“I hope the guys build on that in the coming weeks.”

Scottsdale

The Falcons took on Scottsdale Christian Monday, April 22, going on to win 8-6 in the final innings of play.

“We were actually down 6-2 in the fifth, when Devin Foyle hit his first career homerun to get us going,” Briguglio said.

“That was followed by three hits in a row, which was then followed by a two-run single from Ethan Fett. We kind of pieced it together.”

Briguglio said that Scottsdale Christian was probably the best team the Falcons played from their own division this season.

“They’re a very good team,” he added.

“But we beat them twice now in come-from- behind wins.”

Andrew Bryniarski started on the mound, pitching six for the win, giving up three earned runs and striking out four along the way. Luke Hotte came in to finish, earning his first save of the year.

“He actually struck out the last batter with bases loaded,” Briguglio added.

Cory Kukkola got things rolling at the plate with two hits and a pair of runs. Foyle added two hits, including his homer, and two RBIs.

Andrew Bryniarski pitched in a two-run homer, his eighth of the year, while Cameron Russo added two hits including a double and a run.

Nick Wojtysiak had two hits and two runs while Paul Bryniarski put in two hits including a double, a run and an RBI.

Fett finished up with two hits and two RBIs.

“I was real proud of the guys and the way they pulled that off,” Briguglio said.

“We scored three, two and one in the final innings and didn’t give up a run after the third. It was a good game.”

Saguaro

Taking on the big squad from Saguaro High School, the Falcons played in what Briguglio called a “seesaw” game of shifting momentum.

The Falcons started off up early, 2-0, before falling behind 3-2 heading into the seventh.

“We scored two to go up 4-3, then they came in and scored two of their own to get the win at 5-4,” Briguglio added.

“It was another good, close battle. They scored the winning run with two outs. We just couldn’t close it down.”

Nick Wojtysiak pitched just shy of five innings, giving up one earned run and striking out six. Briguglio said he was doing fine but throwing a lot of pitches, so Foyle was sent in to finish up.

“Foyle threw one scoreless inning, but they got to him in the seventh,” Briguglio said.

Offensively, Foyle went two for three on the day with a double, a run and two RBIs. Andrew Bryniarski added a hit and a run while Nick Wojtysiak put in a triple and an RBI.

Fett and Justin Steuber added a hit and a run apiece.