Valley Christian defeats Yuma Catholic for first 3A baseball championship since 2011

Carson Grier contributed to Chandler Valley Christian's three consecutive 3A boys basketball state championships.

On Monday, he played a big part in top-seed Valley Christian's first state baseball championship since 2011.

His two-run double in the bottom of the fifth sealed a walk-off, run-rule 11-1 victory over third-seed Yuma Catholic at Tempe Diablo Stadium in the 3A state title game.

Valley Christian (29-2) scored three runs in the second, four runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth to finish off the Shamrocks, who went 24-5.

This made up for last year's runnerup finish, falling to Phoenix Northwest Christian in the state final.

It was the first state title for first-year head coach Vince LaGatta, who was in tears afterward, overwhelmed by emotion.

LaGatta didn't expect it would be won by the run rule.

"We have a lot of respect for Yuma Catholic," LaGatta said. "Coach Judd Thrower is a super human being. He coaches his team so well. They had a great year.

"We didn't expect it to be a 10-run. But we just kept hitting the ball. We stayed in at-bats. It all paid off in the end."

LaGatta felt the loss to Gilbert Christian in the best-of-three semifinals helped his team, because the Trojans had to face live pitching Saturday, winning the series with a 10-3 win to break the 1-1 series tie.

Yuma Catholic swept Northwest Christian in two games in its best-of-three series and hadn't played since Thursday.

Yuma Catholic starter Mickey Fox came in with a 9-1 record and 0.94 ERA. But he walked the first two batters in the first inning. Valley Christian loaded the bases with none out but couldn't score, as the Shamrocks forced an out at the plate, before turning a double play.

In the second, Fox again walked the first two batters. This time, he didn't have the fortune to get out of another jam. Kyle Grier singled with one out. Brock Jackson drove in a run with a single, and catcher and Arizona-commit junior Caleb Danzeisen doubled in two runs to make it 3-0.

That would be all that sophomore left-hander Cameron Bergloff would need. He went five innings, giving up seven hits. Three of those hits came in the third when the Shamrocks managed only one run after Erik Topete ripped an RBI single and the next two batters lined out to sophomore left fielder Jaxen Maxey, a transfer from 6A Tempe Corona del Sol.

In the top of the fifth, Maxey threw out Topete at second when he tried to stretch a single. That was Yuma Catholic's second out.

"It means the world," Maxey said about the championship. "I was at Corona last year, transferred to Valley. I knew we had something special on this team. We lost a semis game and came back and worked together. We fought as a team. It was all of us combined."

Bergloff was thankful for the defense and run support.

"I treated it like a normal game, just throw strikes," Bergloff said. "I know my team has got me behind me."

The Grier twins, Carson and Kyle, combined for four hits. Both impacted Valley Christian's 'threepeat' in basketball.

Carson Grier tripled in two runs in the fourth, before delivering the winning two-run double in the fifth.

"That's always the dream," Carson Grier said about winning basketball and baseball titles in the same year. "We won three in basketball before that. But to win one in baseball, and have two in one year, that's crazy."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Valley Christian defeats Yuma Catholic for first 3A baseball championship since 2011