PHOENIX — State semifinal games are supposed to be hard-fought, close contests, but apparently no one told the Catalina Foothills and Pueblo softball teams.
Both Foothills and Pueblo scored upset wins in run rule fashion at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix on Saturday morning to clinch a berth in next week’s championship games.
Seventh-seeded Foothills beat No. 2 Mohave Valley River Valley 12-0 in five innings in Division III action while fifth-seeded Pueblo beat No. 1 seed Benson 10-0 in five innings to reach the Division IV final.
It is the first title game appearance for Foothills since their only other in 2001. Pueblo is the in the championship for the first time since 1990, it they won the 4A title.
“This has been 25 years in the making,” Pueblo coach Cutis Ruiz said. “To be able to be part of it, especially with this group of girls, thank God; it’s just amazing.”
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Foothills advanced to Tuesday’s Division III state championship game at ASU’s Farrington Softball Stadium. The Warriors play at the same location on Monday night in Division IV title game.
Catalina Foothills sophomore ace Nic Conway threw a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts in the six innings.
Foothills jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Then sophomore utility player Zoe Garcia hit a two-run home run in the third and senior utility player Lilli Wright hit a three run homer in the fifth.
“It’s fantastic and little different coming off that game we had last night against (San Tan Valley) Poston Butte, that was a 2-1, that was a ball game right there,” Foothills coach Mark Stevens said. “We just felt very confident coming in that we could hit the ball really hard and I think it showed right here, got a bunch of hits.”
For Pueblo in the circle, senior Nickole Robles threw a two-hitter and didn’t give up a walk.
“So many times they saved me,” Robles said. “I couldn’t be any happier right now.”
Pueblo jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, highlighted by a grand slam by junior outfielder Brianna Gomez. In the fourth, senior shortstop/pitcher Vanessa Duarte hit a solo home run.
The Warriors had lost 7-5 at Benson in April.
“It’s really cool but we got a saying ‘We play not for revenge but for ourselves,’” Robles said. “If you play for revenge, karma kind of comes back.”
Pueblo faces No. 2 Camp Verde for the title while Foothills plays No. 5 Payson for the championship.
This season marked Foothills’ first playoff appearance since 2009. The Falcons went 10-18 last year and 5-22 in 2014.
“At the beginning of the season that was our goal right there, get to state, get to the championship game and win it,” Stevens said. “So we got two out of the three so far.”
-James Kelley
Salpointe stays alive; top-seeded CDO knocked out
PHOENIX — Salpointe Catholic’s Malaealani Baray-Rocha isn’t really fond of inside pitches but maybe that will change after this weekend.
The freshman outfielder hit two home runs off inside pitches Saturday, including a grand slam in the bottom of the second, to help the sixth-seeded Lancers to a 7-5 victory over No. 23 Casa Grande in an elimination game in Division II state softball tournament at Rose Mofford Sports Complex.
The Lancers fell behind 1-0 early before Baray-Rocha’s four-run shot gave Salpointe a 4-1 lead.
“I wasn’t trying to hit a home run. I really wasn’t," Baray-Rocha said. “It just came off my bat. It was an amazing feeling. I didn’t know it was a grand slam until I got to home.”
But the No. 23 seed kept things interesting, cutting the Lancers’ lead to a run in the top of the third with a two-run home run by Aleesia Sainz.
“They were really scrappy,” Baray-Rocha said.
Things continued to stay tight. A two-run single by Kayla Wilson in the bottom of the fourth and a solo home run by Baray-Rocha in the sixth made it 6-3 Salpointe heading into the final inning, but Casa Grande continued to fight. The Cougars put up two more runs in the seventh on a double by Sainz before a ground-out by Breana Bandin would end the game.
Salpointe Catholic’s next win-or-go-home game is Wednesday at Rose Mofford against the loser of Tuesday’s matchup between No. 8 Tucson High and No. 4 Glendale Cactus.
“We’ve just got to keep hitting, attacking and jump on teams early,” Baray-Rocha.
In another Division II loser’s bracket matchup Saturday, top-seeded Canyon del Oro was upset by No. 5 Phoenix Arcadia 5-3.
Arcadia came out hot Saturday, putting up two runs in the first inning and three more in the third to take a 5-0 lead.
“The very beginning of the game is what really cost us,” said Gale Bundrick, CDO’s pitchers and catchers coach for Canyon del Oro. “We came out a little soft in the pitching and gave up five runs right out the bat and then we started playing catch-up which is hard to do against that type of a pitcher.”
A two-run home run by Arianna Acedo in the bottom of the third inning got CDO on the board. The Lancers added another run on in the sixth when Jenna Martin was hit by a pitch to score Arianna Felix and bring Canyon del Oro within two runs, but that’s as close as things would come.
“It’s tough,” Bundrick said. “Especially after the fantastic season that we’ve had.”
-Kelsey Perry
POSTSEASON GLANCE
SOFTBALL
DIVISION II STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, double-elimination after second round. Winner-take-all championship game)
First-round results
No. 12 Cienega 7, No. 21 Mesa Skyline 3
No. 16 Desert View 3, No. 17 Flagstaff 0
No. 18 Sunnyside 9, No. 15 Buckeye Verrado 5
No. 19 Sierra Vista Buena 12, No. 14 Gilbert Mesquite 7
Second-round results
No. 1 Canyon del Oro 4, No. 16 Desert View 1
No. 2 Ironwood Ridge 11, No. 18 Sunnyside 1 (5 innings)
No. 3 Sahuaro 6, No. 19 Sierra Vista Buena 3
No. 6 Salpointe Catholic 10, No. 22 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows 0 (5 innings
No. 8 Tucson 17, No. 9 Goodyear Desert Edge 7 (5 innings)
No. 5 Phoenix Arcadia 5, No. 12 Cienega 3
Third-round results (double elimination)
No. 8 Tucson 10, No. 1 Canyon del Oro 9
No. 2 Ironwood Ridge 10, No. 23 Casa Grande 0 (5 innings)
No. 3 Sahuaro 1, No. 6 Salpointe Catholic 0 (12 innings)
Saturday’s loser bracket, first-round results (single elimination)
No. 5 Phoenix Arcadia 5, No. 1 Canyon del Oro 3
No. 6 Salpointe Catholic 7, No. 23 Casa Grande 5
Winner quarterfinals (double elimination) – Tuesday
No. 3 Sahuaro vs. No. 2 Ironwood Ridge at Amphitheater, 6:30 p.m.
No. 8 Tucson vs. No. 4 Glendale Cactus at Rose Mofford Sports Complex, 6:30 p.m.
Loser bracket, second round (single elimination) – Wednesday, location TBD
No. 6 Salpointe Catholic vs. TBD.
DIVISION III STATE TOURNAMENT
(32 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 7 Catalina Foothills 5, No. 26 Lake Havasu 4
No. 10 Douglas 15, No. 23 Lee Williams 0
No. 16 Empire 13, No. 17 Glendale Apollo 2
No. 11 Phoenix Bourgade Catholic 3, No. 22 Sahuarita 1
No. 19 Rio Rico 9, No. 14 Avondale Agua Fria 1
No. 24 Nogales 6, No. 9 Goodyear Estrella Foothills 0
Second-round results
No. 7 Catalina Foothills 8, No. 10 Douglas 1
No. 1 Yuma Cibola, No. 16 Empire 7
No. 19 Rio Rico 5, No. 3 Mohave Valley River Valley 1
No. 24 Nogales 19, No. 8 Show Low 2 (5 innings)
Quarterfinal results
No. 7 Catalina Foothills 2, No. 2 San Tan Valley Poston Butte 1
No. 1 Yuma Cibola 12, No. 24 Nogales 1
Saturday’s semifinal results
No. 7 Catalina Foothills 12, No. 3 Mohave Valley River Valley 0 (5 innings)
Championship game – Tuesday at ASU’s Farrington Stadium
No. 7 Catalina Foothills vs. No. 5 Payson, 6:30 p.m.
DIVISION IV STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 19 Pusch Ridge Christian 16, No. 14 Willcox 14
No. 20 Tanque Verde 13, No. 13 Globe 0
No. 24 Amphitheater 18, No. 9 Florence 1
Second-round results
No. 1 Benson 12, No. 16 Phoenix Country Day 0 (5 innings)
No. 3 San Manuel 9, No. 19 Pusch Ridge Christian 8
No 5 Pueblo 14, No. 21 Thatcher 4
No. 4 Yuma Catholic 13, No. 20 Tanque Verde 11
No. 24 Amphitheater 2, No. 8 Chandler Prep 0
Quarterfinal results
No. 1 Benson 8, No. 24 Amphitheater 3
No. 11 Morenci 13, No. 3 San Manuel 1 (5 innings)
No. 5 Pueblo 8, No. 4 Yuma Catholic 8
Saturday’s semifinal results
No. 5 Pueblo 10, No. 1 Benson 0 (5 innings)
Championship game – Monday at ASU’s Farrington Stadium
No. 5 Pueblo vs. No. 2 Camp Verde, 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION V STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 13 San Miguel 13, No. 20 Williams 0 (5 innings)
No. 12 Mayer 13, No. 21 Bisbee 12
No. 9 San Carlos 8, No. 24 Academy of Tucson 7
No. 11 St. David 14, No. 22 Mogollon 10
Second-round results
No. 4 Elfrida Valley Union 17, No. 13 San Miguel 6 (5 innings)
No. 6 Joseph City 16, No. 11 St. David 14
Quarterfinal results
No. 4 Elfrida Valley Union 20, No. 5 Winkelman Hayden 0 (5 innings)
Semifinals – Saturday at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix
No. 1 Kearny Ray 6, No. 4 Elfrida Valley Union 2
