Salpointe, CDO titles cinch Southern Arizona’s superiority in prep softball | Michael Lev

When Salpointe Catholic High School left fielder Torrence Salyer recorded the final out in the 4A state championship game Monday night at Hillenbrand Stadium, it officially secured the fourth state softball title for a Southern Arizona school this year.

That’s four for Southern Arizona, two for everyone else.

Four for us, two for them.

Way to go, girls!

Not that anything that transpired Monday at Hillenbrand or GCU Softball Stadium would have changed that outcome. The combatants in the 5A and 4A title games were all Tucson-area schools: Canyon del Oro vs. Mountain View and Salpointe vs. Mica Mountain.

It was the ultimate win-win scenario.

“I am here for it,” said Pima Community College coach Rebekah Quiroz, who played at Flowing Wells and UA and whose team consists almost entirely of players from Tucson-area high schools.

“Phoenix plays great ball, but there's nothing better than keeping our trophies home. I'm just so proud of all the local high schools that are competing. If I wasn't in South Carolina trying to win a national title, me and my coaches would be spread out keeping those kids home.”

OK, so Quiroz wasn’t physically here for it Monday. She had business to attend to. Pima is participating in the NJCAA Division II World Series for the third straight year. The eighth-seeded Aztecs play their first game Wednesday morning.

Not bad for a squad that truly represents the 520, eh?

‘In a good place’

This year marked the third time since the AIA implemented the six-conference structure that Southern Arizona claimed four state crowns. The two previous instances were 2017 and '18.

Willcox (2A), Tanque Verde (3A) and CDO preceded Salpointe in the winner’s circle this year. The '26 Diablos and Lancers were part of an exclusive club: It was only the second time ever that all four finalists in two “big school” conferences were from Southern Arizona, per Javier Morales of AllSportsTucson. The only other time it happened was 1991.

“Tucson softball’s strong,” said first-year Mica Mountain coach Jim Martinez, a longtime club coach whose daughter Krista was part of three state title teams at Salpointe and spent a season as a walk-on at Arizona.

“We had a couple down years when it comes to the club-ball scene, but right now there are many, many, many good players in Tucson. You can see the competitiveness, what CDO and Mountain View did today, us and Salpointe, what Tanque Verde did and what Willcox has done. Softball is in a good place for Tucson right now.”

Both Martinez and Salpointe counterpart Tricia Sztan were able to rattle off all four Southern Arizona state champs. It’s pretty clear that they feel the same sense of pride that Quiroz expressed.

“Congratulations to all the Southern Arizona teams — CDO, Tanque Verde, Willcox,” Sztan said. “It's just so exciting to see that we can play ball here, too.”

Baseball vs. softball

Tucson has been called a baseball town. It’s just as much a softball town. Maybe more so.

Since the expansion to six conferences in 2017, Tucson-area schools have won 22 state softball championships — 25 if you include Willcox (one) and Benson (two).

Over that same time span, Tucson-area baseball teams have won six state titles, with five more going to our Southern Arizona neighbors (Bisbee, Benson, St. David and Nogales twice).

Although Salpointe, CDO and Sabino have been able to break through in recent years, Phoenix-area schools have dominated in baseball — especially at the 5A and 6A levels.

Why does Phoenix have the edge over Tucson in baseball? Two main reasons, per coaches and observers of the Arizona high school sports scene: (1) The prevalence of spring-training facilities in the Valley; and (2) the preponderance of former MLB players who have settled there whose sons also excel at baseball (Landon Hairston, Dre Ethier, Owen Konerko, etc.).

While Phoenix-area schools have won every 6A softball crown since 2017, they haven’t fared nearly as well in 5A and below. That’s where Southern Arizona’s softballers have asserted themselves.

What’s fueling that excellence? Theories abound.

Quiroz cited work ethic and community support.

“They're built different,” she said of Tucson-area players. “They come from families who work very hard. They come from a community that is — how do I say this? — it’s like a village.

“If I go look at a kid, I'm gonna have five moms telling me how amazing that kid is — and it's not even their kid.”

Kenzie Fowler, who led CDO to three state titles before starring at the UA, believes Tucson’s underdog mentality helps its softball programs punch above their weight.

“We have a chip on our shoulder,” said Fowler, who works in the UA athletic department and serves as a softball analyst for ESPN. “I felt that growing up. We're always the underdog to Phoenix. We're always the underdog to Southern California.

“(Those are) the markets that we're always playing in; a lot of these Tucson teams will go play in Southern California for some nonconference tournaments. Usually we'd go to one big tournament a year, and we’d want to go to Southern California because we would want to go test ourselves (and) prove ourselves.

“We would get wins, and they'd be like, ‘Excuse me, who's this team from Tucson?’ And then, all of a sudden, you walk a little differently when you're taking away wins from those household names in Southern California.

“You can be an underdog in softball and win. You gotta have a pitcher. But you can have one arm and build a scrappy team around that one arm and go to work and get it done.”

That’s another theory: Southern Arizona has had a plethora of elite pitchers in recent years. Salpointe’s Texas State-bound Macee Jackson and Mica Mountain’s Ace Heston were stellar Monday night, combining to allow just four earned runs. UConn commit Claire Achilles and Hattie Macumber were the driving forces for Tanque Verde and Willcox, respectively.

CDO’s top two pitchers, Savanna Mares and Kelcy Pierpont, are freshmen. So don’t be surprised if the squad coached by Kelly Fowler (Kenzie’s mom) makes a few more title runs — although Salpointe, which is moving up to 5A in 2026-27, might have something to say about that.

The Lancers have owned 4A, winning seven of the past eight championships in softball.

The UA factor

It was apropos that the final Southern Arizona softball title of 2026 was clinched at Hillenbrand Stadium; the Wildcats’ success is inextricably linked to what’s happening at the club and high school levels here.

Arizona’s rise to prominence that began in the late 1980s under Mike Candrea spawned an entire softball ecosystem across Southern Arizona.

“You come out to this beautiful field and you watch these (women) play, and you just unlock a piece of the girls that they didn't know (was) inside them,” said Sztan, who played at Salpointe just as the Wildcats were becoming a powerhouse program.

“‘I want to do that. I want to get dirty. I want to hit the ball. I want to pitch the ball.’ Just being out here and being able to watch great teams continues to inspire.”

“It's in this stadium here,” added Salpointe athletic director Phil Gruensfelder. “You look at the names that are over there on the fence, and you think about the Jennie Finches, you think about the Susie Parras — just great role models for these kids to look up to.

“Looking in the stands tonight, I saw little girls wearing U of A softball T-shirts coming out and watching. ... They aspire to be them.”

What’s funny about Southern Arizona’s surge in softball is that it has coincided with the UA’s regression. The Wildcats failed to advance out of the regional round for the second straight year and just the fifth time in 38 tries. They haven’t reached the Women’s College World Series since 2022 and last won it all in '07.

Perhaps the UA should spend more time looking for players in its own backyard.