Comets enter MWL slate with high hopes, No. 1 Class 5A baseball power ranking
Crater has been making a trip to California off and on since 2007 for the annual Fresno Easter Classic, but Thursday marked the first time the Comets were able to pack the big trophy home with them to Central Point in 12 total appearances.
The Comets wrapped up a 4-0 tournament run late Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory over Bullard High of Fresno, continuing what has been a terrific start to the season that has Crater sitting No. 1 in the Class 5A baseball rankings.
“It is not easy,” said Crater head coach Jay Campbell of earning the Easter Classic title. “There’s 36 teams in it, and it’s really good baseball.”
Fortunately for Campbell, the Comets (7-1) are also playing really good baseball at this stage of the season.
And it’s of no surprise to him.
“I think a lot of it has really been just the way that we practice and the mentality of the kids buying into each day getting better and being the best version of themselves,” said Campbell, whose team’s lone loss was a 6-5 setback to South Medford on March 25. “That’s basically been our message all year long. It really started in the offseason in the weight room and with our workouts, and we really picked up the intensity and the discipline and the expectation, and that’s why we’re seeing some success right now.”
The championship atmosphere of Wednesday’s late game proved the Comets’ mettle, with Crater rallying from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game against the host area team behind a two-run double by sophomore Michael Villarreal in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“We had plenty of chances where we could have kind of put our heads down and quit when things didn’t go well,” said Campbell, “but the kids stayed with the program and stayed together and I think that’s what kind of got it done.”
“We only had 13 kids down here, and Bullard had 30 kids in the dugout and they had 15 coaches,” he added. “It’s just a different level down here, and for our kids to come down and just stay together and have each other’s backs and compete is what really pushed us over the edge.”
Freshman Carson Noce authored a “gutsy pitching performance” against Bullard, scattering five hits with only one earned run as he struck out four and walked three through six innings.
Noce, who was named tournament MVP, allowed single runs in the second and fourth innings, and in neither case was he truly in trouble. Bullard was merely able to come up clutch with a pair of two-out balls put in play.
An inning-ending double play with the bases loaded kept Crater from scoring in the second inning, but a leadoff single by Noce in the fourth inning that was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Caleb Cornett created another opportunity. Andrew Sweet followed with a single to put runners on the corners and, after a strikeout, No. 9 hitter Villarreal sent a shot to the left-center gap to make it 2-all.
“It’s been a different guy each time, and this time it was our young kids,” said Campbell of an opening few weeks of success. “Carson’s a freshman and Michael’s a sophomore, that kind of just pushed us over the edge.”
Crater came up with confidence to produce a go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth that was built as much on situational awareness and capitalizing on opportunities as much as anything. Cornett created a tough play for the Bullard shortstop on a one-out grounder, and the junior didn’t hesitate to take second when the ensuing throw sailed high at first base.
After a strikeout, sophomore Ronix Kezer kept Crater’s hopes alive with a chopper that went over the pitcher and forced a charging effort by the shortstop. The ball ricocheted off his glove to an empty spot on the right side of the infield, and Campbell kept Cornett running on the play through third base for a 3-2 advantage.
In the top of the seventh, Villarreal came on in relief of Noce and got some help from his defense after issuing a leadoff walk. The Comets were steady on a fielder’s choice groundout to nab the lead runner, and Cornett retreated back a bit from shortstop for a pop fly for the second out.
Bullard again put the tying run on base when a batter was hit by a pitch, but Villarreal closed the door by inducing a game-ending groundout.
The Comets turned two double plays in the championship game — Crater’s only other finals appearance came in 2014 — and came up with a host of steady defensive efforts in a tournament where the pitchers averaged about five strikeouts per game.
Noce was the winning pitcher in two of the four outings, allowing two hits with six strikeouts in 3 ⅔ scoreless innings during his other appearance, an 11-0 win Monday over Sunnyside.
To help solidify his MVP status, Noce also combined to go 6-for-10 with six runs, five RBIs and three walks drawn during the tourney.
Senior pitcher Morgan Austin went the distance in Tuesday’s first game for a 7-1 triumph over Justin Garza High of Fresno, allowing six hits and no earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Comets used a committee approach in Tuesday’s second game — 15-9 win over Liberty High of Madera — where senior Alex Johnson closed the door with three scoreless innings with only one hit allowed to support a late scoring surge. Crater rallied with seven runs in the top of the sixth inning and tacked on another insurance run in the seventh.
Zack Harrington, a junior, joined Cornett and Sweet in driving in two runs apiece against Liberty, while leadoff batter Mason Snopl scored three times and Austin, Cornett, Noce and Kezer each crossed twice.
For the tournament, Snopl went 5-for-11 with six runs scored to set the table, while Austin went 5-for-10 with four runs and five RBIs, Cornett was 4-for-11 with five runs and four RBIs and Sweet was 3-for-9 with three runs and four RBIs.
“Overall our team depth is really good right now offensively and on the mound,” said Campbell, “and defensively we’re very, very good.”
“I just like our balance overall,” he added. “We actually have 11 kids that I think can be in the lineup at any time.”
Many of those same contributors helped lead Crater to an American Legion A state championship two summers ago, and the Comets were 32-2 heading into last year’s event before coming up short.
Last summer, Crater also enjoyed a pivotal moment by winning the Lions’ Midnight Sun Matchup Tournament in Fairbanks, Alaska — posting a 5-0 record in a tourney that helped erase some of the bitterness of being eliminated by Alaska in the Northwest Regionals one year prior.
So many of the same faces, extending their high school seasons with deep postseason runs over the past two years, has created a heightened level of confidence and camaraderie among the Comets.
“I’ve been coaching for a long time and this is one of the best team makeups of chemistry that I’ve ever had,” said Campbell. “I think it does go to the fact that we’ve played at state tournaments the last couple of years in the summer, and our trip to Alaska and now a trip down here in Fresno. I just think the bond that these guys have with each other is pretty special.”
It’s a bond that Crater hopes to lean on as Midwestern League play begins for the Comets on Tuesday at North Eugene, and as more eyeballs turn toward the south with that No. 1 state power ranking.
Crater hasn’t advanced out of the first round in either of the past two seasons, and last earned a state playoff victory when the Comets won the 5A title in 2018 after finishing runner-up in 2017.
“I’ve had conversations with the kids about that,” said Campbell of a potential target in the 5A ranks. “We’ve been ranked No. 1 in the year multiple times, and I can think of two years where we were ranked No.1 in the state the whole year, and one of the years we ended up getting beat by Justin Herbert and Sheldon in the (6A state) quarterfinals in 2014.”
“It doesn’t change anything for us,” he added. “We’re just focused on the next day and getting better, and being the best version we can be.”
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035