Amphi catcher Rafael Neda, who will play at the University of New Mexico next season, says the Panthers' strength is their hitting.

Jim Davis / arizona daily star

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Amphitheater senior catcher Rafael Neda is excited about his opportunity to play college baseball at New Mexico next year.

"I am looking forward to continuing playing baseball," said Neda, who was on the All-Southern Arizona team last season.

But before he heads to Albuquerque, Neda hopes to finish high school with a state championship, which eluded his team last season. Scottsdale Chaparral beat the Panthers 4-3 in the Class 4A-I state title game.

Neda talked to the Star about how the Panthers (5-1) are shaping up this season.

"We have been practicing during the fall and the whole winter, so the season looks pretty good right now. We want to make it all the way this year. We are very motivated. We are working very hard so I think, of course, we have a pretty good chance to win (the state title).

"Our biggest challengers are Catalina Foothills and Chaparral. Chaparral beat us last year at state. Catalina Foothills probably beat us I think four times last year so we want to beat them this year. CDO (Canyon del Oro) could probably challenge us this year, too.

"Our first goal is to get first place in the region and then make it to state. I think we got a pretty good chance at that because we are very motivated. We just need to keep practicing. We need to keep working on our errors.

"I think our strength this year is our hitting because we have a lot of good hitters. We've been hitting pretty well so far, too. Our pitchers also look really good this season.

"And I think another strength is our teammates are always very together. Everybody is there to support everyone on the team. I think everyone is so helpful with each other — that's one of the things that helps us get better.

"My brother, Ricardo, is always with me, too. We are always helping each other. He is a junior right now but he is helping me get better. We motivate each other because we want to win together."