NOTE: This is a work in progress. Please send updates and/or corrections. Thanks.  amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com UPDATED: Two more Cienega softball players going to college.

2010 Baseball Preview

1A

St. Augustine was a 4 seed and lost to North top seed Mogollon in the first round last year. Duncan was a 2 seed from the East and lost to the top seed from the South Gila Bend in the second round.

Valley Union was a 3 seed and they lost to the West top seed Valley Lutheran 11-10 in the second round.

Tanque Verde was the 2 seed from the South and was the only team that did well against a top seed as they destroyed the East top seed Pima 14-1 in the second round and then defeated Valley Lutheran in the semifinals 2-1 before defeating Bagdad for the state championship.

Tanque Verde lost Josh King (.531, 44 RBIs and semifinal winner) and Ryan Rogers (.506, 26 RBIs) to graduation. They also lost Jesse South and Charlie Hearne (Championship game winning pitcher) who combined for 61 RBIs and 14 doubles along with 4 homeruns by Hearne.

Senior Ryan Pernu, junior Jose Perez, junior Mark Harris, junior Luke Herschenroeder and sophomore David Novak return for the Hawks. This group of players gives Tanque Verde an excellent chance at another good year.  Jesse’s younger brother Ryan South also returns for his senior year and has played in all but one varsity game that Tanque Verde has had over the last three years.

A video of the championship game can be found here:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1528458

Duncan lost Devan Herrera and his improbable .613 average, 56 RBIs, 11 doubles, 2 triples and 6 homeruns. Rustin Jones is now a senior and Chance Hamilton is only a sophomore and they will have a good supporting cast to help them fill Herrera’s void.

St. Augustine has Jake Gonzalez coming back for his senior year. All he did was hit .625 with 20 doubles and 7 triples. Daniel Townsend is also a senior.

Valley Union will sport at least eight seniors this season.

Frankie Mgbolu has a fractured hip that will take about five more weeks to heal. He batted over .500 for St. Gregory last year and it is unknown if he can compete this season. Look for Jayson Rickel to lead the team.

Ajo will have difficult year as they lost their three best players to graduation.

2A

San Manuel was a 2 seed from the South and they knocked off top seed Hayden to make it to the championship game where they lost to the other 2 seed Pusch Ridge 15-5.

Pusch Ridge knocked off Tombstone 11-1 and East top seed Bisbee 7-1 on their way to their championship. They outscored their opponents 39-12.

Thatcher and Benson also made it to state but both lost in the first round.

San Manuel lost 8 seniors but they bring back Frank Bejarano, Matt Phelps and Jacob Ruiz. Tombstone lost Devon Martinez but they will have 8 seniors on their roster.

Bisbee was hit hard when Jacob Amos, Thor Acuna and Adrian Borquez graduated. They were their top three players. Miguel Marrufo returns for the Pumas.

Thatcher lost 10 seniors and Benson should also have a difficult year.

Ben Royce, Mitch Pitney, Joe Beck and Trevor Beck return for Desert Christian and Willcox returns Rudy Verdugo.

Pusch Ridge lost Joey Degroff, Daniel Vavrusa, Dawson Jones and Andy Knox from their championship team but they return Matt Horrigan, Alec Erceg and Owen Bertelsen. The three seniors combined for 87 RBIs last year.

3A

Safford was the lone Southern Arizona team to make state and they went in as an 11 seed and lost in the first round 10-0.

Stephen Walden is a senior for Safford and had amazing numbers last year: .549, 34 RBIs and 6 homeruns.

Santa Cruz just missed the state playoffs and should make it this year as almost everyone is coming back.

Bobby Williams returns for Empire as the Ravens return a more experienced team this year.

4A I

was a 16 seed and went out in the first round. Catalina Foothills lost to top seed Cactus in the second round

Sabino

Nogales was a 5 seed and they also lost in the second round to Chaparral who knocked off 13 seed Pueblo in the first round.

Canyon del Oro was a 3 seed and they sent 14 seed Sahuaro home in the first round and 6 seed Cienega in the second round before beating Cactus in the championship game 15-5.

Sabino lost Dave Lopez and Ray Finley but Spencer Larson is only a junior. Catalina Foothills returns Christian Muscarello (Pima) and Jeff Coelet. Muscarello played for the Cincinnati Reds in the Area Code Games last summer and picked up an RBI in the championship game. 150 players form three states tried out for the team and Jake Cole of Sahuaro joined him on the roster.

Sahuaro will have 9 seniors on their roster this year. Besides Cole, the Cougars return CJ Rodriguez, Andrew McKeever and sophomore Adam Borboa.

Rodriguez participated in the National Junior Olympics track and field championships last summer.

Keith Zuniga is now a senior for Nogales and will be playing for Arizona next year. Pueblo lost Adam Marquez and 6 other seniors. Juan Vega will be headed to Pima next year.

Cienega will have KC Mejia for one more year before he heads to Eastern Arizona but they lost Seth Mejias-Brean to Arizona. Mario Sanchez also returns for his senior year before heading to Pima.

Marana lost 12 seniors. Greg Bray is a senior for Desert View who hit .517 last year. Flowing Wells only lost two players and will have a more mature team this year.

CDO will have Luke Parrish (Eastern Arizona) back. Ryan Retz, Griffin Ronstadt and Doug Steele play football now at Pima. Retz also plays baseball at Pima. Like the softball team, CDO may find it difficult this year.

4A II

Amphitheater came in ranked as a 16 seed and lost in the first round. Catalina was a 5 seed but was upset in the first round.

Sahuarita and Douglas faced each other in the first round with Sahuarita coming out on top. Sahuarita was then upset in the second round.

Alex Brown is headed to Pima next year but he will be a power for Amphi before he leaves. The Panthers also have Alan Borboa (5 homeruns) and Brandon Kuhn returning.

Catalina has Anthony Romero (Central Arizona) coming back but lost power hitters Frankie Daniel and Joe Ruffino. Sahuarita lost 9 seniors from last year – they will have to find some answers to make it back.

Douglas has AJ Acosta back for his junior season and Jesus Salazar for his senior year. Adrian Cordova returns for Cholla.

Camaren Gause will head to Eastern Arizona but not before he finishes out his career at Palo Verde.

5A I

Salpointe went in to the state playoffs ranked a 12 seed where they had to play eventual state champion Corona del Sol in the first round of the double-elimination tournament where they lost.

They defeated Gilbert and Red Mountain in the losers bracket before falling to Desert Vista.

Tucson went in as an 11 seed and lost their first two games, the second one taking 13 innings to complete.

Salpointe has seniors Jacob Hunter (Yale), Dan Slania (Notre Dame), Mark Gavre (PIMA), Harrison Graham and Jack Hale (Paradise Valley) returning along with junior Joe Serrano and sophomores Ryan Penaflor and Hunter Miller.

They will be going up against Tucson High. The Badgers lost Kenneth Sigman (7 homeruns, 25 RBIs) and Alan Garcia (12 homeruns, 42 RBIs: Eastern Arizona). But, they will have over 11 seniors on their roster this year including Shane Cohen and Cesar Batista. Bryant Munoz is only a junior and Scott Laughlin, who transferred in from Cholla, will add some depth.

Buena returns Tagg Duce and Jimmy Marciano coming back along with 8 seniors. The Colts could be tough team with this much experience.

5A II

Mountain View was a 12 seed and lost its first two games of the double-elimination tournament. Ironwood Ridge was a 15 seed and lost in the first round before reeling off two upset wins in the losers bracket before being knocked out.

was a high 7 seed and lost to 2 seed Pinnacle in the second round. They then lost their first game in the losers bracket.

Sunnyside

Sunnyside will send another Rosthenhausler to college next year. This time Ryan will be headed to Long Island. The Blue Devils lost 8 seniors but they should be able to reload.

Mountain View lost Patrick Kyle and Aaron Anderson. They have Jamie Rodriguez and Robert Kallal coming back for their senior year.

2010 Softball Preview

1A

St. Augustine finished with the top seed in the South Region last year and Valley Union took the second seed.

Unfortunately, both teams lost to state champion and North Region top seed Joseph City. St. Augustine lost in the semi-finals 3-1 and Valley Union lost in the championship game 10-9.

St. David took the fourth seed in the south and lost to Joseph City in the first round 7-2.

Bowie/San Simon combined forces to take the second seed in the East Region and Duncan took the fourth seed. Both teams lost in the first round.

St. Augustine is no pushover. The 1A power defeated 4A II Catalina twice last year along with Santa Rita. They took Cholla and Pueblo to the wire and tied Nogales.

They are a young team composed of mostly sophomores and juniors. The Wolves were actually beating Joseph City on a double by then freshman Marissa Romero and an RBI single by then freshman Kelsey Norman in the 4th inning.

They could not hold the lead and lost in the 7th inning.

St. David lost Breana Carpenter and Miriam Williams but have their pitching crew still intact.

Valley Union comes back strong with senior Karina Zamora back in the circle and juniors Brianna Bojorquez and Otilia Robles leading the team.

Ajo had a very even season last year and only lose two players.

Junior Lauren Pernu is the hot hitter for Tanque Verde.

2A

Benson was the top seed in the East Region but they lost to two seed Pusch Ridge 10-8 in the second round.

Willcox was number 2 in the East and they defeated Pusch Ridge 15-3 in the semi-finals but then lost to Camp Verde 4-2 in the championship.

San Manuel was the top seed from the South but they lost to 2 seed Camp Verde in the other semi-final game 5-3.

Thatcher was a 4 seed and lost in the first round.

Nikki Dunlap is now a sophomore and she will be that much better for the Cowboys. She hit .512 with 40 RBIs, 10 doubles, two triples and two homeruns to lead the team as a freshman last year.

They lose Esther Leskell but Sam Miller and Adrienne MacHiche remain.

Rachel Ward returns to lead Pusch Ridge and Corrie Ward and Sarah Majors will fill the gap left by Andrea Alameda and Morgan Van Stelle.

San Manuel’s Noelle Medina is only a junior and Brittney LeGrand returns to the circle for what looks like another successful year.

Benson will come back stronger with Chelsey Layton, Stacie Ramirez and Kayla Haro. They were 0-2 against Pusch Ridge last year and look to avenge the losses.

Thatcher returns almost everyone from last year and looks to improve their seeding for this year.

3A

Santa Cruz has been a power from the South and they took their 4th seed to the second round last year where they lost in extra innings.

Safford has taken over control of the South and was awarded a two seed last year. They lost to Winslow in the semi-finals.

Softball has been pretty much nonexistent at Empire but things will change with a new focus provided by new coach and former Arizona star Laura Espinoza-Watson. She will have Hunter Kennedy returning and there are quite a few club ball players who will be attending Empire in the next few years to join her in building a program there.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/highschoolsports/2010/01/11/former-arizona-softball-star-laura-espinoza-watson-set-to-coach-empire/

Santa Cruz won three state championships in the last decade – most recently in 2008 – they have won five overall.

They have power hitter junior Tori Gil (7 homeruns), senior Tiffany Ibarra (.598 average, 5 homeruns) and pitchers junior Traci Ibarra and sophomore Micaella Lopez returning. Ibarra is headed to Pima next year. This team is loaded again.

Equally talented Safford returns sophomore sensation Alexis Aguirre but they lose Mandy Mazanek. Brittany Zuniga-Romero (4 homeruns) and Aundria Zuniga-Romero (7 homeruns) come back for their junior and sophomore seasons.

4A II

Douglas (4) and Sahuarita (10) are the only two teams from the Gila Region to make state last year.

Douglas was upset by 12 seed Perry in the second round and Sahuarita did not make it out of the first round.

Douglas loses five players from last years 29-3 team. This could be a rebuilding year for them but they have the services of Erika Tapia before she moves on to Pima

This will be Sahuarita’s year. They return junior Yvette Alvarez (6 homeruns and a .93 ERA), junior Lainie Rieger and senior Abrie Bustamante. They lose Monique Martinez but there’s more than enough to win this region.

Cholla is the only other team in the region with a chance to move on as they moved from 4A I to 4A II. They are led by senior pitcher Monet Ormsby and catcher Bianca Haro.

4A I

This is the hottest division in Southern Arizona.

Cienega went in as the top seed and Canyon del Oro was the two seed. CDO had lost to Cienega 1-0 during the season and was hoping for a rematch.

Both teams met again in the state championship and CDO came out on top 4-0.

It was CDO’s sixth championship and third in a row – that was with Arizona pitcher and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year Kenzie Fowler.

Both teams have players who are college-bound.

CDO: Junior Mattie Fowler has verbally committed to Nebraska and sophomore Sammi Noland also to Nebraska.

Key losses: Kenzie Fowler, Katie Asher to Oklahoma State, Lindsey Weldon, and junior Taylor Watkins, who moved to Washington State (Watkins is headed to Ohio State).

Junior Kayla Henry is one of the top players in Arizona.

Cienega: Senior Ashlee Brawley to Arizona, seniors Emily Pohl and Morghan Doughty both to Colorado State and senior Alexa Cash to East Tennessee State. Also senior Kimberly Johnson will be playing for Belmont with Catalina Foothills MJ Lawson and Brandi Klein signed with Phoenix College.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/highschoolsports/2009/11/19/etsu-signs-cienega-pitcher-alexa-cash/

Key losses: Brittany Keiser to Yavapai and Brittany Johnson to South Mountain.

With the loss of Fowler and Asher, the edge must go to Cienega. With Chaparral moving up to 5A II this year, the state championship looks that much closer for Cienega, as Cash takes the main stage.

Catalina Foothills earned a 12 seed, Marana a 14th seed, Sabino an 11th seed and Sahuaro a 6. Desert View also snuck in with a 15 seed. Cholla had a 13 seed but moved down to 4AII.

Catalina Foothills suffered plenty of losses: Aubrey Baldwin, Stefanie Carramusa (New Mexico State), Megan Morrison (North Carolina) and Colleen Svancara.

Check out this link for Morrison:

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/111709aab.html

The Falcons still have the services of MJ Lawson who signed with Belmont in the fall.

Marana lost catcher Marlina Delisa to East Tennessee State (see Alexa Cash). They have sophomore Jenna Bodman, senior Sammie Merriman, Shayna Binnion (Pima) and sophomore Courtney Lacaillade coming back.

Sabino will have senior Kaity Sitzman in the circle before she heads to Villanova:

http://www.villanova.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/112909aaa.html

They have junior Shawna Comeaux, sophomore Shelby Mendoza and junior Aubre Carpenter returning.

Sahuaro can contend if senior Kira White (Pima) is healthy. White took CDO to the wire two years ago as a sophomore.

Seniors Jessica Schneider, Lauren Hostetler and Rebecca Mullin (all three are headed to Pima) come back with one of the best younger stars in the city, sophomore Morgan McKeever. Courtney McCoy (Trinidad State) also returns.

Desert View lost Sabi Romero to South Mountain.

5A II

Rincon earned a 16th seed and Sunnyside a 5th seed last season.

Rincon had to play top seed and eventual state champion Sunrise Mountain in the first round of the double-elimination tournament.

Their 4-0 loss sent them to the losers bracket where they upset 9 seed Willow Canyon 10-1 before losing to 4 seed Cibola 1-0 in 9 innings.

Sunnyside took care of Yuma in the first round and then sent Cibola to the losers bracket in the second round. The Blue Devils then lost to Sunrise Mountain 4-0 and were then upset by 8 seed Boulder Creek to knock them out of the tournament with a fourth place finish.

Pitcher Estela Pinon is now a senior and she will control the circle for Sunnyside. She will be joined by fellow senior Amanda Martinez.

The Blue Devils lost Pitcher Mari Contreras and Janessa Martinez (South Mountain) to graduation.

Rincon lost Charissa Ballesteros (Pima), Brooke Bohannon (South Mountain) and Virginia Baygents.

Mountain View started last year off strong with a 6-2 record but could not maintain consistency. Sophomore pitcher Gabby Sanchez will lead her team. Jessica Sipe (Pima) is now a senior.

Ironwood Ridge had a young team last year but will make state with senior Kat Banks, junior Dani Colwill, and sophomores Lauren Robinson, Makayla McAdams, Jordan Rocker and Robin Landrith.

Landrith is one of the area’s best catchers – she should be. Her father David played baseball for Arizona and won a national championship with Terry Francona, Craig Lefferts, Ed Vosberg and Jeff Morris in 1980 and he now coaches baseball at Flowing Wells.

5A I

Buena earned a 4 seed, and Salpointe a 6 seed last year.

Buena won their first two games at state but were then upset by 16 seed Xavier for a chance to get to the championship round without a loss.

The Colts were forced to play top Red Mountain to win the losers bracket where they lost 2-0. Xavier had upset Red Mountain in the first round. Buena finished in 4th place.

The Lancers lost to eventual state champion Basha in the second round 3-0. Salpointe worked their way back through the losers bracket but lost to 2 seed St. Mary’s 3-0 to finish in a tie with Buena for 4th place.

Salpointe will be back as they are loaded with talent.

Nicole Rascon enters her senior year as does Blakeney Sitton, Miraya Montiel and Heather Schulz. Juniors Gemma Contreras, Paige Peterson, Dana Hughes, Gaby Ruiz, Kayla Laguna and Abriel Hernandez look to contribute gain this year.

Rascon is headed to Yavapai to play for Stacey Iveson as is Montiel. Rascon and Morghan Doughty of Cienega are the best lead-off slappers in Southern Arizona and Montiel joins Cienega’s Ashlee Brawley as two of the best short stops.

Sitton might play at the Air Force Academy next year and is Dave Sitton’s daughter – the television voice of Arizona athletics.

Buena was hit hard by graduation.

Pitcher Meghan McIntosh and infielder Shannel Blackshear are called Wisconsin’s “new hope.”

http://badgerherald.com/sports/2009/04/27/wisconsin_recruits_s.php

The duo will make their NCAA debut at the ASU Kajikawa Classic in Tempe on February 11 against Texas Tech.

Catcher Ariel Morbeck went to Southern Utah and she will also make her debut at the Kajikawa Classic against Ohio on February 11. Courtney Dennis went to Central Methodist.

Carissa Youngblood enters her senior year for the Colts as will Liberty Johnson and Brianna Jacoby but Buena may have lost too much at one time.

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