What he did: Estrella shined on the mound and at the plate as he helped Ironwood Ridge pull within one win of reaching the Division II state championship game. The right-handed senior batted .488, hit 12 doubles, 11 home runs and drove in a team-high 53 runs for the Nighthawks. Estrella, the team’s ace, also posted an 8-3 record with a 2.88 ERA.
Top performance: With the season on the line, Estrella took a shutout into the eighth inning and struck out 12 batters as 10th-seeded I-Ridge knocked off No. 7 Sunnyside to reach the double-elimination stage of the Division II state tournament. Four days later, Estrella struck out eight in another complete game, this time against Mesa Westwood, to send I-Ridge on to the semifinals.
What’s next: Estrella is signed with Azusa Pacific University, where he will continue playing in the infield. The Cougars finished with a 30-20 record in 2016.
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Runner-up: Tristan Peterson, Canyon del Oro. The senior catcher was one of the top sluggers in the state and helped the Dorados advance deep into the postseason. CDO was also one of Tucson’s top programs during the regular season, before earning the No. 6 seed in the Division II state tournament.Â
