Coconino Gives Bradshaw Mountain Its First Region Loss Saturday In Flagstaff

The Coconino Panthers gave the Bradshaw Mountain Bears their first Grand Canyon Region loss of the season, with a 16-13 win Saturday in Flagstaff. The Bears scored a run in the first inning, but Coconino answered with a three-run home run from Quinn Mickelson to make it 3-1 Panthers after one. Bradshaw Mountain added seven runs in the second inning, mostly off a pair of home runs from Elias Avila and Ryan Buckle, to go up 8-3 lead. In the bottom half of the second, the Panthers scored three runs to cut the lead to 8-6 after two innings. After setting the Bears down in order, the Panthers scored seven runs of their own to go up 13-8 after three innings. Pitching for both teams calmed down as it stayed 13-8 until the fifth inning as the Bears got two more home runs from Shane Livesay and Aiden Ott to trim the Coconino lead to 13-12. Coconino came back in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run home run from Adrian Marquez to go up 16-12. The Bears would add a solo home run from Avila, his second of the game, in the sixth inning and that was it as the Panthers won 16-13. Coconino’s win moves themselves, Prescott and Mingus to within one game of Bradshaw Mountain for the region lead. Cole Gillespie was 2-for-2 and scored three times for the Panthers. The Bears are off until next Friday when they travel to Scottsdale to play Saguaro. Coconino will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Cottonwood to take on Mingus.