TEMPE — Canyon del Oro held off a late push to beat Tucson High 3-1 in the Division II state championship game Tuesday evening and capture its first state title since 2009.
Tucson had runners on second and third with two outs in the top seventh inning before Nicholas Sandoval was caught trying to score on a passed ball for the final out.
After senior pitcher Nick Ames applied the tag, the Dorados poured onto the field at Tempe Diablo Stadium to celebrate.
"It's special," Ames said. "These guys, we've been playing together since we were in little league. To finish off on the baseball diamond with a win, there's nothing better."
The win give CDO (32-2) its eighth baseball crown and kept Tucson from taking home its first title since 1998. The Badgers (28-6) were in the state final for the first time since 2002.
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Tuesday's championship game was a rematch of the Class 5A final in 2002, when Keith Francis coached CDO to an 8-6 win against coach Oscar Romero and the Badgers.
Read more in Wednesday's Arizona Daily Star
