Heritage Academy varsity baseball won its fourth consecutive Canyon Athletic Association Division II championship last night. The Heroes took the trophy with a 6-1 victory over the Dragons of Chandler’s AZ Compass Prep.

“It’s really a tribute to our kids, how they prepare and the time they put into practicing,” head coach Tanner Carpenter told InMaricopa.

Cristian Morgan led the charge for the Heroes with a 4-for-4 outing at the plate. One at-bat yielded an inside-the-park home run on an 0-2 pitch in the third inning, which tied the game at one run apiece.

“He absolutely smoked the ball four times,” said Carpenter. “From the moment he left the batter’s box, he was on a dead sprint. That was his goal, and he made it in easy.”

Morgan added singles in the first, fifth and sixth innings, driving in multiple runs. He also provided the key blow in a five-run rally in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run single on the sixth pitch of his at-bat.

On the mound, Micah Figueroa delivered another standout performance. He allowed just one run on five hits over seven innings, striking out five and walking two.

“Micah has been phenomenal all season long,” said Carpenter. “As a coach, when you have a guy that throws strikes, you love when he’s on the mound. He just continues to pound the zone.”

Figueroa faced 26 batters and threw 87 pitches, 58 of them for strikes. Carpenter praised both the pitcher and his defense: “Our defense last night probably played the best game we’ve played all season. It was the cleanest game.”

Matthew Martin contributed a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, helping Heritage tally 10 total hits in the title game. The Heroes’ defense also turned two double plays to stifle any comeback hopes from AZ Compass Prep.

Lorenzo Ruvalcaba took the loss for Compass Prep, giving up five runs on six hits over four innings while striking out eight.

Coach Carpenter, who teaches algebra at Heritage, credited the team’s success to a combination of effort and preparation.

“I try to coach a lot of the mental aspect of the game,” he said. “You’re always going to be in a spot where you have to think on the fly and be ready. Our kids have gotten to a point where they do that.”

The Heroes will graduate three seniors this year, but even with those departures, Carpenter remains optimistic.

“I would love to say yes” to a fifth title run, he said. “We’ve been fortunate. Our kids are fantastic. And when they get on the baseball field, it’s that much more fun.”