Joshua Eaton is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Higley High School for AZPreps365.com

Although rolling gray clouds blocked out the night sky over Higley’s baseball diamond on Monday, the stars still aligned in the Knights’ favor during their 7-5 comeback victory over Gilbert.

The Knights found themselves in a hole just a few minutes into Monday’s affair, as Gilbert senior Grant Goodman crushed a lead-off homerun off a pitch from Higley sophomore left-handed pitcher Alan Macias. It was Macias’ first homerun surrendered in his two years at Higley.

The hole got much deeper for Higley in the second inning. A pair of fielding errors by Higley, both down the third base line, assisted Gilbert in plating four runs on just two hits in the second frame.

After a scoreless third inning from both teams, Higley once again found itself in a pickle in the top of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs illuminated on the right field scoreboard, Macias maintained his composure on the mound and forced Gilbert to hit a pop-fly for the innings’ final out.

Macias described his frame of mind following his clutch pitch that stranded three runners.

“I was excited,” Macias said. “It might not seem like it, but I was. I just wanted to get back in the dugout. I knew our team had some fight left, so I just wanted to capitalize on the momentum of getting out of the fourth.”

The momentum Macias built on the mound instantly transferred to the plate for the Knights.

Following a walk and hit-by-pitch that put runners on first and second base, sophomore catcher Gio Garcia entered the batter's box with a chance to put the Knights on the board in the fourth inning. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Garcia worked his way back to a full count before driving an RBI single into shallow center field.

“I know that I can work a count, so I’m never too stressed with the ‘maybe,’” Garcia said of the at-bat following the game. “I always stay patient, find what I like and hopefully it drops.”

Garcia’s RBI single broke open the floodgates for the Knights in the fourth inning.

With the bases loaded and two outs showing, junior infielder Hayden Scatena connected for a two-RBI single to bring the Knights within two runs. An RBI single by senior Ty Henze in the following at-bat shrunk that gap to just one run.

That’s when chaos ensued.

With Higley runners on first and second base, Gilbert hit two consecutive Higley batters with pitches and walked a third, allowing the Knights to plate two runs and take a 6-5 lead. During the Knights’ six-run fourth inning, four batters were hit by pitches.

Thanks to another RBI single by Scatena in the fifth inning, the Knights held a 7-5 lead until one out remained in the top of the seventh frame.

A pair of late seventh-inning singles by Gilbert put Higley’s narrow lead in jeopardy, however. After finding himself in a 3-0 count, Knights senior pitcher Ryan Birch delivered three consecutive strikes to close out the night and escape with his second save of the season.

“It felt really good,” Birch said of surviving the final out. “I felt off a little bit at first, but then when I was at 3-0, I realized what I was messing up and got it done.”

With their win over Gilbert, Higley secured its first regular season winning record under second-year head coach Ryan Chapman. Overwhelmed with joy, Chapman explained what the accomplishment meant to him following the game.

“I’ve been around for a long time, man, and we’ve had a lot of ups and downs,” Chapman said. “We’ve had really good teams and a lot of those losing types of teams. And, you know, it’s these guys — I’m making the lineups, they’re playing the games. It’s a tribute to their hard work, their dedication and their fight. It’s special for us.”

While its winning record is secure, Higley’s season is far from over. The Knights will look to complete the regional sweep over Gilbert when they travel to the Tigers’ den on Thursday.