After slow start, Coon gives lift to Skyhawks

Adam Candee

Monday, May 17, 2004 | 8:42 a.m.

Casey Coon anchors the Silverado baseball team, and it is tough to hold anything in place with a broken wrist.

Silverado struggled as Coon, a first-team All-State shortstop, watched most of the regular season from the dugout because of that injury. But he returned just before the playoffs, making the Skyhawks anything but a typical No. 4 seed heading into the Sunrise Region tournament.

Four regional wins later, Coon and the Skyhawks will represent the Sunset at this week's 4A State Tournament at Carson High School. Silverado will arrive with just an 18-17 record on the season, but with plenty of momentum after its 13-3 run rule victory against Foothill in the region title game.

"It's been a little bit of a roller coaster ride," Silverado coach Brian Whitaker said. "We actually were saying from Day 1 that this is something we could do. And after the way we started, I'm sure there were plenty of people that were skeptical. To finish like this is exciting and now we have one more step, hopefully."

Silverado will be joined from the South by Sunset Region champion Cimarron-Memorial, an 8-3 title game winner over Centennial. Reno and Reed represent the Northern Region. Just four teams qualify for state in this year's reduced format, down from eight last season.

To hear it from Whitaker, Silverado might not be making the trip if not for Coon's return, even in a limited role as designated hitter.

"Without a doubt, Casey Coon lifts everyone up around him," Whitaker said. "We missed him for about 20-some games. When he came back, it was a shot in the arm for us."

A playoff homer against Basic and an unlikely championship make that missed time seem like a distant memory for Coon.

"Forgot it all," Coon said. "None of that means nothing to this point. This is what it's all about."

Silverado returns just a handful of players from last year's state tournament qualifier and the Skyhawks barely made the playoffs with a 5-5 division record and a 14-17 overall mark. No matter, Coon said, because the Skyhawks were coming together at the right time.

"We're young, but we're good," Coon said. "The talent's definitely there. We just had to show it. We just (had) to jell a little bit more together."

He later said: "It's kind of an advantage to us. People came in here not knowing -- I don't think anybody doubted us, but we kind of snuck into the playoffs and took care of business as we went."

Cimarron-Memorial handled business across town, booting Centennial with the same powerful offense that has carried it all season long. Region MVP Jorge Esquivel was one of four Cimarron players who homered to key the win over the Bulldogs.

The Spartans (SS-1) face Reed (N-2) to open play Thursday, while the Skyhawks (SR-1) take on Reno (N-1). That tournament runs for three days and is a double-elimination format.