The 2008 Sahuaro Cougar baseball season is off to a fast start. The everyday playing rotation has consisted of five sophomores, two juniors and three seniors. With seven games under our belt, every Cougar has had an opportunity to show the coaching staff their skills with an early season tournament at Tolleson. Listed below is a breakdown of the season through the first seven games.

Offense - B+

The team batting average is .340, however, more importantly the team has driven in 60 runs with 26 extra base hits. So. CJ Rodriguez leads the team with .462 BA and So. Jake Cole .429 leads the team in home runs (3) and RBI's (12). Sr. Matt Fierro has provided some much needed pop in the middle of the lineup with .450 BA and 6 extra base hits. Sr. Alex Ferguson .429 and Sr. Brandon McCollum .375 and 11 RBI's have set the table at the top of the order. So. Josh Weyker .391 BA and 5 Extra base hits has provided steady production out of the 5 hole.

Defense - C

Some early miscues put added pressure on our young pitching staff during the Tolleson Pre-season Westside Tournament. The right side of the infield consisting of 2B Branson McCollum and 1B Cole, Fierro and Ferguson has provided stability to an infield, whereas the left side has struggled a bit. Coach Senne has the outfield playing and communicating well so far this season.

Pitching - B+

The most pleasant surprise of the young season is how Coach Gillooly has the pitchers throwing the ball with a team ERA of 2.87. Coach Gillooly returns to the pitching coach position after coaching Cougar pitchers in 2004 and 2005. Cole leads the team with 14 IP and a record of 2-1 and 1.50 ERA. Ferguson (2-0) 1.31 ERA and 5.1 IP, So. Mike Rodriguez (1-0) 2.00 ERA and 7 IP, and So. Drew McKeever (1-0) 3.50 ERA 8 IP round out the Cougar staff with decisions in 2008.

The varsity team finished 4-1 in the Highland Victory Classic capped off by a 3-1 7th inning come-from-behind victory over 5A II #2 Mesa Desert Ridge (16-2). Matt Knapp opened the inning by drawing a walk. He moved to third on an errant pick-off attempt. Brandon McCollum punched a single through a drawn-in infield. In a scary moment, Josh Weyker hit an absolute bullet at the DR shortstop that bounced up and hit him in the throat for an infield single. Jordan Underhill laid down an excellent sac bunt to move the runners over and Travis Helfrich doubled down the right field line to plate the winning runs. Weyker then proceeded to strike out two DR hitters in the bottom half to seal the win.

The Cougars came up with a wild win last night (Tuesday) at Catalina Foothills 19-13. Alex Ferguson led the way going 5-5 with a double and a grandslam to reclaim the lead for good in the 5th inning. Josh Weyker went 3-3 with a double and two homeruns. He missed out on a third HR that sailed foul in left field. Josh also received two intentional walks to finish the night. Matt Knapp was 3-3 with a double and a homerun and 4 RBI's. Jake Cole finished 3-4 with three RBI's. Ferguson received the win after relieving Cole in the 4th. Overall the Cougars punched out 21 hits, 5 doubles and 4 homeruns.