Fit for a King

Sergio Sanchez missed the end of Kofa's regular season and missed the Kings' first playoff game.

The Kofa junior shortstop/outfielder/pitcher wasn't going to miss any more.

Sanchez's return coincided with three straight playoff wins as the Kings reached the Class 5A Division II quarterfinals. For his big bopping and strong pitching, Sanchez was named The Sun/Yuma Rotary Club 2009 All-Region Baseball Player of the Year.

Sanchez hit .463 this year with five home runs and 29 RBI. He was 4-1 with a 3.44 ERA on the mound, striking out 43 in 40-2/3 innings.

"He's got two dimensions he brings to the field: A guy that can take over on the mound and take over there," coach Richy Leon said. "But also with the stick, coming in and changing the complexity of our team in the middle of the lineup. On both sides of the baseball he can take care of our team."

Sanchez suffered minor injuries down the stretch of the Kings' Gila Valley Region winning season and missed the final games against Cibola, both losses. He then missed the playoff opener when the Kings lost 3-2 to Tempe-Marcos de Niza.

"Watching them lose was a heartbreaker for me," Sanchez said in an interview during their playoff run. "I wanted to be there. But now that I'm back, it's going pretty well."

Sanchez returned after that game, unable to pitch but only play as a designated hitter.

"I sit in the dugout and think 'That could be me on the mound,'" Sanchez said. "But my teammates are getting batters out pretty good. I'm pretty happy watching them doing what they do."

With Sanchez back in the lineup, Kofa scored 33 runs in their next three wins - including a 11-5 win over the Padres to avenge the earlier loss. The season ended with a 5-4 loss to Glendale-Deer Valley in the quarterfinals.

"Mentally I think you lose that punch (without Sanchez)," Leon said. "You don't want to equate it to the big leagues, but what recently happened with Manny Ramirez -there's a big void there. This time of the year, a couple of runs are going to be huge. And he's always going to be good for scoring one or two and driving in one or two. That's two to four runs a ballgame, and that's huge this stage of the year. Really, any stage of the year."

Last year, the Kings were two-and-done in the double-elimination postseason, but were led there in part by a breakout year by Sanchez.

"We knew he was a great ballplayer and we knew he was capable of great things," Leon said. "This year it's not as surprising. As a coach you almost expect it because he's been doing it two full seasons in a row."

Leon said this year's performance is more impressive, given that there's no mystery about who the slugger in the Kings' lineup is.

"Even when we play in Phoenix, everybody asks about 'that Sanchez kid,' and everybody thinks he's a senior. We tell them he's a junior, and it's like 'Oh, man,'" Leon said. "They pick him as a guy to not beat them. So they're going to be tougher on him. For him to step up and still contribute when he's the target of a lot of pitching staffs is still remarkable for him to come through and get big hits."

Sanchez said this year he was focused more on winning than on personal numbers, which still improved over last season.

"Last year I did pretty good, but I wasn't satisfied with my numbers or anything like that," Sanchez said. "This year I don't care so much about how I do, I just want to help my team out. It doesn't matter what I do, how I hit the ball, how I pitch as long as we win."

SUN/YUMA ROTARY CLUB 2009 ALL-REGION BASEBALL TEAM

Pancho Gomez, P, Yuma High

Juan Ortiz, P, San Luis

Adrian Gutierrez, C, Yuma Catholic

Sergio Portugal , 1B, San Luis

Krysthian Leal, 2B, Cibola

Bobby Rodriguez, 3B, Yuma Catholic

Albert Alvarez, SS, Cibola

Alex Miranda, OF, Cibola

Ruben Gonzalez, OF, San Luis

Simon Corea, OF, Kofa

Juan Martinez, UTL, San Luis

Gustavo Albarran, DH, Kofa