-Blade-Contributing Writer Central Arizona College Baseball

(Prescott)-When you talk about the nightmare that these Central Arizona College Vaqueros are to opposing bullpens, all you can really say is...

"What a nightmare these Vaqueros are to opposing bullpens."

Add in unpredictable winds sometimes up to 50mph in Prescott at a shorter trac, then add in a guy like Mat Olsen, well.....

Olsen threw a masterful six innings, Daniel Davila threw a very strong seventh and Central Arizona kept the power-hitting and quite formidable Yavapai offense to three runs in a 22-3 win Friday, sending Central to the West District championship on Saturday.

Yavapai's only answer was when two runs came in on a weird passed ball in the third inning, and that was all the Roughriders could get from there.

In the day's final game to determine CAC's opponent after Central's 22-3 win, Yavapai scored two in the bottom of the ninth for a 14-13 win against Southern Nevada.

Central has given up seven runs in two games and scored 35.

Wow.

With 21 hits (13 for extras!), 13 walks, and a ten-run seventh inning, Central capped off an impressive two days.

It was really a chinese fire drill from the first through the fifth innings as you just didn't know where the ball was going to go. With Central hitting in the third, one ball got lodged in the crack of the fence for a Kiko Romero inside-the-park, another playable (we thought at first) fly ball bounced off the top of the fence, a Yavapai outfielder did a complete circle (maybe even two) trying for a fly ball which dropped in for extras...

The deal is, Yavapai had those kinds of issues defensively, but Central didn't. Olsen struck out nine Yavapai's which eliminates the wind problem, gave up six hits and only two earned runs. Davila struck out two more in his one inning closeout.

Seemingly, Central has plenty of pitching left for Championship Saturday.

It was a two-homer day for Romero and Dusty Garcia, Tyler Griggs and Hayden Seldomridge added on. Griggs had another 5-5 day and knocked in four runs, Romero drove in four more, Jake Jarvis scored five times, JD McLaughlin doubled and had three hits total, and in the end, 21 hits and 13 walks equals 22 runs.

But that was yesterday.

At 11AM Saturday the West District finals begin. With a Central win, they move on to the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction. Yavapai has to beat Central twice.

GAME REPLAY HERE