Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

RAYMOND SUAREZ

rsuarez@tucsoncitizen.com

The Salpointe Catholic High School softball team avoided elimination once again in the Class 5A Division I state tournament Saturday.

The No. 6-seeded Lancers defeated No. 11 seed Tempe Corona del Sol 5-2 in a losers bracket game.

Salpointe moves on to play No. 2 Phoenix St. Mary’s at Tempe Marcos de Niza High School at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

In 4A Division I state first round action, No. 12 seed Catalina Foothills upset No. 5 Phoenix Sunnyslope 2-1.

The Falcons will play at No. 4 Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Girls tennis

Pusch Ridge Christian Academy junior Tanya Hetlinger finished third Saturday in the Class 2A/3A state individual tennis tournament.

In the semifinals, Hetlinger lost to Safford’s Allison Evans, the eventual state champion, 6-2, 6-1. Hetlinger recovered and took third, beating Christine Stockslager from Phoenix Country Day, 6-1, 6-2.

Baseball

Canyon del Oro advanced in the 4A-I state tournament by beating No. 14 seed Sahuaro 7-6 on Saturday.

The No. 3 Dorados will play No. 6 Cienega at Surprise Baseball Stadium at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

In 4A-II first round action, No. 3 Sahuarita defeated No. 14 Douglas 5-0.

The Mustangs will play No. 6 Phoenix Greenway at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Girls track

Catalina finished in first place with a team score of 139 in the 4A Gila regionals Saturday.

Melanie McGrath took first place for the Trojans in the 1,600 meter race with a time of 5 minutes, 16.46 seconds. McGrath also won the 800 meter race with a time of 2:22.85.

Boys track

The 4A Gila regionals belonged to Catalina as it finished with a score of 176.

Daniel McIver helped the Trojans by taking first in the high jump (6-6), long jump (21-11.25) and the triple jump (42-6 1/2). He also helped his relay team take first in the 4×400 relay (3:30.46).

• Other weekend results, 5C

The Arizona Republic
4A PREP TENNIS

The Arizona Republic

GLENDALE – Born 367 days apart, a pair of Palo Verde High School brothers battled it out Saturday in the Class 4A Division II tournament singles final.

With a powerful left-handed serve, the taller, younger Carlos Bermudez returned from a deficit to win the first set 6-4, then coasted in the second 6-1.

The top-seeded sophomore said he took pleasure in winning the tense match against brother Dominic, a sixth-seeded junior who won the individual championship as a freshman in 2007.

“I think he was nervous because I beat him last week, too,” Carlos said, referring to a win the 4A Gila Region championship. “(Our rivalry) goes back and forth, but, recently, I’ve been winning.”

The self-officiated match quickly became a heated one. Long rallies were often completed with close calls, brothers muttering under their breath and slapping their rackets against their thighs.

The competitors went through two different line judges after disagreements on calls. In between games they sat side-by-side on the bench, though neither looked tempted to speak to the other.

After graciously shaking hands at the end, Carlos was all smiles.

“This is what the school has been wanting,” he said. “The kids on the team want to win state, too.”

Palo Verde is a three seed in the team portion of the tournament and needs a win against Cottonwood Mingus on Tuesday to reach the semifinal.

4A-I boys

In a matchup of two friends and Catalina Foothills teammates, Zack Haffor got an early break in the first set against Daniel Hyman and rode that momentum to a 6-4, 6-3 win in the 4A Division I boys singles championship.

Just a short time earlier on a neighboring court at the Paseo Racquet Center, Goodyear Millennium’s Hunter and Yates Johnson topped Foothills’ Michael Tringali and Ravi Ram to capture the doubles championship.

Haffor and Hyman had to contend with fatigue after both played three-set matches in the semifinal round, and then in the championship both had to deal with the midday heat and moderate humidity on the near 90-degree afternoon.

“It was tougher than I thought,” Haffor said of the conditions. “But once I got that break in the first set, the momentum flipped and I was able to go from there.”

Haffor, the top seed, and Hyman, the No. 2 seed, each held serve in the first set before Haffor got that key break to enable him to take the first set, 6-4. Haffor didn’t let up after that, breaking Hyman’s serve twice more in the early going of the second set and then cruising to the championship.

While Haffor was happy to come away with the championship, beating his friend and teammate Hyman was bittersweet.

“It’s good because we’re really good friends,” Haffor said. “But it’s kind of tough because you’ve still got to drive back (to Tucson) together, knowing one of you won and one of you lost.”

Meanwhile, Millennium’s freshman twins, Hunter and Yates Johnson, took home the doubles championship with a 6-3, 6-3 win.

Despite looking physically overmatched against the Foothills seniors Tringali and Ram, both of whom are more than 6 feet tall, the Johnson twins kept their opponents off balance with their array of volleys and groundstrokes to come away with the title.

4A-I girls

In her first year of playing high school tennis, third-ranked Nikki Parker of Scottsdale Chaparral upset the No. 1 seed, Zaina Sufi of Catalina Foothills, 6-4, 6-4 in the 4A-I singles title match in Glendale.

Sufi put the first games up in each set, but 15-year-old Parker was consistent, never falling more than a game behind.

“I just kept pushing every point,” Parker said. “I kept playing and being aggressive. I gave it all I had. Everything. I left it all out there.”

The Arizona Republic
5A PREP TENNIS

The Arizona Republic

GLENDALE – It was an all Ironwood Ridge matchup in the Class 5A Division II boys doubles championship with No. 1 Timothy Holten and Dillon Kennedy defeating No. 2 Josh Taylor and Conor Spiegel 7-5, 6-1 for their second straight title.

Both sides came out strong in the first set, but Holten and Kennedy stepped it up in the second set against the familiar faces.

“It’s very odd facing your teammates,” Holten said. “But I’m glad they made it there too. It was a good battle.”

Kennedy thought the match was a good sign for Ironwood Ridge, which last week won its second straight team championship.

“It just shows how strong our team is that two of us can get that deep in the tournament,” Kennedy said. “It’s nice, but at the same time, it’s hard to see your teammates go down.”

Kennedy had a strong serve all match long, and Holten kept tracking down shots to his left and right with ease. The chemistry proved once again to be a winning combination.

“It’s awesome,” Kennedy said. “Two years in a row doesn’t happen very often so it’s special.”

Classmate Shannon Contreras fell 6-2, 6-0 in the 5A-II girls singles championship to Phoenix Pinnacle’s Priscilla Annoul.

Contreras, the team captain, earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament and advanced to the championship despite a large blister developing on her hand during Friday’s quarterfinal match.

5A-I girls

Senior Maggie McGeorge fell to Tempe Corona del Sol’s Kelsey Lawson 6-1, 6-1 in the Class 5A Division I singles championship.

Salpointe coach Perri Touché will lose McGeorge to graduation, and that loss brought on a few tears Saturday. She coached McGeorge throughout her career and thinks of her as one of her own.

“She’s been very successful on and off the court,” Touché said. “You name it, this kid has done it. It’s been an honor.”

Touché did have reason to celebrate and look forward. Her doubles team, a pair of freshmen cousins, earned the state title with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 victory over Xavier.

The girls, Lauren and Courtney Amos, battled through and won a first-set tiebreaker, which proved the turning point in the match.

Touché had a feeling the girls would win.

“The kids kind of got it,” she said, referring to the tiebreak. “They had momentum, and they were doing exactly what they were supposed to do.”

Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

GEOFF GRAMMER

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

Douglas used a 16-run second inning in a 24-4, five inning win over 4A Gila Region foe Catalina, putting the exclamation point on the school’s first region title.

Douglas, which has had a softball team since the 1979-80 season, clinched the championship Tuesday. Thursday’s win completed a 12-0 region schedule and improved the Bulldogs overall record to 27-3.

Pitcher Erika Tapia improved to 23-1 and Douglas won its 18th-straight game. Douglas outfielder Victoria Mariscal had two doubles and a first-inning grand slam against Catalina.

Canyon del Oro 12, Marana 0 (5 innings): At Canyon del Oro, seniors Kenzie Fowler and Katie Asher finished the regular season in style.

Fowler, the future University of Arizona pitcher, threw a perfect game, striking out 14 of the 15 she faced in the five-inning, run-rule game. The win pushed her season record to 20-2.

Asher, the power-hitting third baseman going to Oklahoma State next year, hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning.

Baseball

The season hasn’t gone the way the Palo Verde baseball team would have liked.

But Thursday did as the Titans beat 4A Gila Region regular season champion Sahuarita 6-5 in nine innings.

With the Titans trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Palo Verde’s Cameron Gause, who was 4 for 4 on the day, hit a two-RBI, bases-loaded single to pull his team within 5-3.

After a double steal, Sahuarita intentionally walked a Palo Verde hitter to face Zach Moreno with two outs and the bases loaded.

“I told him to take that personally,” said Palo Verde coach Jim Mentz.

Moreno, a sophomore third baseman, responded with “a bullet to right centerfield” that scored two and tied the game at 5, Mentz said.

Moreno, who also hit the game-winner with the bases loaded earlier this season against then first-place Douglas, wasn’t done.

With the bases loaded again in the bottom of the ninth, Moreno laid down a suicide squeeze bunt between the pitcher and first baseman. Gause scored from third base for the game-winning run.

Palo Verde pitcher Charlie Causbie (6-1) threw 138 pitches to pick up the complete-game victory in nine innings. He struck out nine and allowed seven hits.

Sahuarita senior Tony Hilderbrand hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.

Tennis

Desert Christian’s Josh Gleason (singles) and the doubles team of Scott Waller and Caleb Steele won 2A/3A South Region championships Thursday at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort.

Pusch ridge senior Tanya Hettlinger won the singles title in the girls tournament.

Freelance
TENNIS

ASH FRIEDERICH

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

After missing the 2008 boys tennis state tournament, the Palo Verde boy’s tennis team made a pact this season to not only make state, but advance to the state title match.

Matt Berger made sure the team got off on the right foot Tuesday.

Berger finished his singles match in straight sets, clinching for No. 3 Palo Verde a 5-3 win over No. 14 Amphi in the opening round of the Class 4A Division II boys tennis tournament.

Palo Verde was one of nine southern Arizona teams advancing in Tuesday’s first day of the Class 4A state tournaments.

“It was a good win,” said Berger, who defeated Abisay Rodriguez 6-1, 6-2. “We had played them three times before and we knew what we expected. Our goal is to win the state championship. We knew they had some good players, so we had to come out prepared.”

The No. 1 singles match between Palo Verde star Dominic Bermudez and Amphi’s Alan Barrios was tied 1-1 in the second set when the team competition was clinched. Bermudez, the 2007 4A-II state singles champion, won the first set 6-3.

“I’ve been in a real slump lately,” said Bermudez. “I played decent, but it’s still not good enough to do my thing on the court.

“(Not finishing the match) bugs me a little bit, but it also makes me feel more confident about my team. They can get the job done and that is the first time they got the job done without my help. I think that is a plus.”

Amphi’s Carlos Medina picked up one of his team’s wins with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Arthur Dean. Amphi also won one singles match by forfeit and a doubles match.

Palo Verde will play No. 6 Cottonwood Mingus in the May 5 quarterfinals.

Sahuarita and Douglas also advanced in the boys 4A-II tournament while Sabino and Catalina Foothills each won easily in the 4A-I boys tournament.

Class 4A girls playoffs

At Sahuarita, Catalina’s tennis team was unaware it qualified for the 4A-II state tournament and did not show up for Tuesday’s match at Sahuarita.

The Mustangs, who advance to play No. 5 Gilbert Higley in the May 5 quarterfinals, haven’t played as a team since the April 21 Gila Region tournament (several players competed April 23 and 24 in the Gila Region individual tournament).

“We were prepared to play today,” Sahuarita coach Eduardo Escobedo said. “I don’t think the layoff will affect the team. We’re going to keep practicing these days that we’re off and going to be ready for next week.”

In the 4A-I tournament, Catalina Foothills, Nogales and Canyon del Oro each won their matches Tuesday.

Freelance
HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS PLAYOFFS

CHRISTOPHER VECK

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

GLENDALE – Tennis titles and Tucson go hand-in-hand.

The Ironwood Ridge boys and Salpointe girls tennis teams carried on the tradition Tuesday at Glendale’s Paseo Racquet Center, bringing home championship trophies they can add to their collections back in the Old Pueblo.

Lancers capture seventh crown

Who knew prom could cause so much pain?

Salpointe senior Lillian Bours, laboring through the pain of severely blistered feet she got walking in high heels Sunday night at her school’s prom, beat Tempe Corona del Sol’s Michelle Wellnitz in a marathon 3-hour, 45 minute match that clinched for Salpointe the Class 5A Division I girls tennis state championship.

Bours’ 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win gave Salpointe a 5-1 win and the program’s seventh state title, including fourth in the past six years.

“It hurt a lot,” Bours said, “but it was worth it.”

The 5-1 team win, according to Salpointe coach Perri Touche, was not a good indication of how close Tuesday’s match was.

“Every match counted today,” Touche said. “I didn’t expect it to be as close as it was. . . Corona was excellent.”

Bours’ victory came on the heels of a wave of momentum which took the team to the finish.

Marillin Beard was the first to win her match for Salpointe, overcoming a first-set loss (1-6) to win out 6-0 and 6-4 over Lauren Hacker.

“That got us going,” Touche said.

Senior Christine Mordaunt won her match soon, after clawing her way to victory, despite obvious fatigue. The win was similar to her grueling singles victory over Phoenix Xavier Prep’s Sarah Serrano in Monday’s semifinals.

Salpointe’s Courtney Amos and Lauren Amos also won their singles matches, allowing the Lancers to avoid having to go into double play in the best-of-nine format.

For Salpointe, the title was the third in four years and fourth in the past six. They’ve also won championships in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Ironwood Ridge boys repeat

The Ironwood Ridge boys tennis team didn’t seem to mind the target on its back all season after winning the 2008 5A-II boys tennis championship.

With a 5-1 win Tuesday over Scottsdale Horizon, the Nighthawks won a second-straight state title and completed the perfect season at 19-0.

“It was different being the front- runner this year and returning a lot of kids,” Ironwood Ridge coach Ryan Bais said, crediting the win to the confidence and experience gained from last year’s title.

Sophomore Dylan Vo kept his cool to defeat the taller and older Adam Waltz (6-3, 2-6, 6-4) for his team’s fifth win, clinching the team title in singles play and, like Salpointe’s girls, avoiding doubles action.

Still, it was the confidence Vo had in his school’s doubles teams that made him relax enough to win his singles match.

“There was no pressure on me at all – we have the doubles state champions,” Vo said, referring to 2008 5A-II doubles champs Timothy Holten and Dillon Kennedy.

Ironwood Ridge will lose lone senior Andrew Vo from this year’s team, but has every intention of trying for a three-peat in 2010.

CHAMPIONS AGAIN

Salpointe girls tennis titles

2009 Class 5A Division I

2007 Class 5A Division I

2006 Class 5A Division I

2004 Class 5A

1996 Class 5A

1994 Class 5A

1993 Class 5A

Ironwood Ridge boys titles

2009 Class 5A Division II

2008 Class 5A Division II

*The AIA split Class 5A into two divisions for the 2005-06 school year.

Citizen Staff Writer
Grammer School

GEOFF GRAMMER

The Pima Community College football coaching staff is stacked with Tucson ties that all bring something valuable to the table in the program’s effort to transform from laughingstock to winners.

Former Canyon del Oro High School coach Pat Nugent has surrounded himself with a staff of ex-head coaches that will undoubtedly make the Aztecs competitive. But as key to the transformation as any just might be the youngest of his assistants coaches, one of the few who has never been a head coach.

Former Sunnyside and Northern Arizona University star running back Philo Sanchez, the son of highly successful Sunnyside coach Richard Sanchez, has taken on the duties of instructing the Pima running backs, at least until he hears back from some law schools he has applied to in California.

“If I don’t happen to get in (to law school) this year,” Sanchez said, “then being a part of this is going to be a great opportunity. Coach Nugent has brought together a lot good coaches here and it’s something that I think is going to work for this team.”

Sanchez, a teacher at Sunnyside who has helped coach his dad’s team the past several seasons, graduated in 2002 from Sunnyside after rushing for 3,984 yards in his junior and senior seasons and went on to have a successful career at NAU.

But his role as a potential liaison between Pima and the pipeline of talent the Sunnyside program puts out each year will be vital. The Blue Devils consistently place a handful of players on junior college football rosters each year. There is no reason those contributors won’t have every reason to stay in Tucson now.

Sanchez was also the 2002 Tucson Citizen Student Athlete of the Year. Academics always have been a strong point for Sanchez. And if he doesn’t get into law school this summer, he likely will soon, so his tenure at Pima may be short-lived.

Still, as long as he’s there now, it won’t hurt the rebuilding project going on for the Aztecs.

• Check out more sports musings at the Grammer School Sports blog at www.tucsoncitizen.com/blog

Citizen Staff Writer
HS ROUNDUP

KEN BRAZZLE

kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com

The Class 4A Gila Region baseball race got even closer Tuesday.

Sahuarita, riding an eight-game win streak, could have clinched the league title with a win over second-place Catalina.

But Catalina (20-6 overall, 8-2 in league play) had other plans, beating the host Mustangs 3-1 in nine innings to pull within a half game of Sahuarita (17-4, 9-2).

“This ties us in the loss column, but we’re a half game behind because we have played fewer games,” said Catalina coach Tony Gabusi. “We’ve got two (games) to play and they have one game.

“We’ve put ourselves where we want to be going into the regional (tournament next week). You want to be at the top rather the bottom fighting to get in. We’ve been playing good baseball like this the last three weeks. The guys are ready.”

Sahuarita can clinch at least a tie for the conference title with a win Thursday at Palo Verde. Catalina plays Palo Verde on Wednesday and Douglas on Thursday.

“Our goal was to win the conference and go to the state playoffs,” Sahuarita coach Sam Gelardi said. “We think we have enough (power) points to get in. Hopefully, we can win the conference with a win Thursday.”

Catalina and Sahuarita are in the top eight in the 4A-II Power Rankings, putting them in line for potential first-round home games in the state tournament.

Both teams got outstanding pitching performances from their starters Tuesday. Catalina’s Robert Pearson went six innings and Sahuarita’s Josh Scoggin turned in 8 1/2 innings.

Anthony Romero pitched the last two innings to record the win for Catalina.

“Robert Pearson did a great job,” Gabusi said. “His strike one efficiency got better at the middle and end of the game. We preach that every game. Anthony came in with strike one almost every hitter. That was huge. Robert was a little under the weather but he sucked it up today.”

Each team managed just six hits in the extra-inning game.

“We didn’t get the runs early that we needed to get,” Gelardi said. “They had good pitchers. I thought the key was the sixth inning. We had tied the game and had bases loaded and no outs. I figured we would come up with a base hit. We were banking on it.”

Catalina took a 1-0 lead in the sixth when Sahuarita’s Brad Crim tied the score with a homer in the bottom half of the inning.

Pearson doubled to drive in the tie-breaking run in the ninth and Nico Blank followed with a run-scoring single.

“We’ve come back from deficits before,” Pearson said. “I knew there was no problem with us coming back in this game. I have a lot of faith in my teammates.”

Sunnyside 6, Mountain View 5 (10 innings): At Mountain View, Sunnyside freshman Benny Garcia hit a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the 10th inning after fouling off five straight pitches with a two-strike count, giving the Blue Devils enough offense to clinch the 5A-II Southern Region championship.

“It was a heck of an at-bat,” Sunnyside coach Ernie Palomarez said. “Then he got that double right down the left field line, right past their third baseman’s glove.”

Mountain View (12-10, 4-2) scored all five runs in the first inning last week in a game that was suspended because of darkness and concluded Tuesday.

After Sunnyside (19-7, 5-1) went up 6-5 in the top of the 10th, it allowed the first two Mountain View hitters to reach base before retiring the next two.

After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Mountain View’s Robert Kallal sent a blast to deep left field where Jose Gomez, who pitched the first eight innings of the game, made a running catch about 10 feet from the fence, according to Palomarez.

Sunnyside plays 5A-I Southern Region champion Tucson High on Wednesday. The double-elimination 5A state tournament will begins on Saturday.

Softball

Douglas started its high school softball program during the 1979-80 season.

Tuesday, thanks in part to pitching ace Erica Tapia and four-year starting third baseman Katie Campbell, the Bulldogs beat visiting Amphi 14-1 in five innings, clinching the 4A Gila Region title, the school’s first region championship in softball.

Tapia improved to 22-1 in the pitchers circle this season and Campbell hit her sixth home run to go along with a .515 batting average for coach Abe Grijalva’s Douglas squad.

“It was pretty special,” said Grijalva, who has been the team’s head coach for 13 years.

High School Sports Editor Geoff Grammer contributed to this article.

Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

RAYMOND SUAREZ

rsuarez@tucsoncitizen.com

The Salpointe Catholic High School girls tennis team advanced to the finals of the Class 5A Division I team tournament after defeating No. 1 Phoenix Xavier on Monday.

The No. 4-seeded Lancers will play No. 2 Tempe Corona del Sol at the Glendale Paseo Racquet Center at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Christine Mordaunt sealed the win for Salpointe in the No. 2 singles matchup. She defeated Sarah Serrano 6-2, 7-5.

Salpointe will attempt to win its third state title in four years.

• In 5A-II action, No. 4 Ironwood Ridge lost to No. 1 Phoenix Pinnacle 5-0 in the semifinals.

Boys tennis

Ironwood Ridge will go for its second 5A-II state team title in any many years on Tuesday.

The No. 1-seeded Nighthawks will play No. 2 Scottsdale Horizon at the Glendale Paseo Racquet Center at noon.

Ironwood Ridge beat No. 13 Phoenix Pinnacle 5-0 to advance.

In 5A-I action, No. 5 Salpointe fell to No. 1 Tempe Corona del Sol 5-0 in the semifinals.

Freelance
ROUNDUP

RODNEY HAAS

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

Daniel Conorque’s goal heading into Friday’s Mario Castro Invitational track and field meet at Sunnyside High School was to jump 6 feet, 10 inches in the high jump.

The Sahuarita senior had to settle for a meet-record jump of 6-8, breaking the 2005 record of 6-6 set by Canyon del Oro’s Jordan Powell.

It was one of 13 meet records broken in the fifth year of the 25-team event.

“I promised (assistant) coach (Trisha Evans) I’d jump 6-foot-10 inches because it’s her birthday,” Conorque said.

While Evans didn’t get her birthday gift, she was still pretty pleased with Conorque’s performance.

“I’m very proud of him,” she said.

Conorque tied the school-record jump he set earlier this season at the Rincon Relays.

Conorque transferred from Pueblo after his sophomore season and started competing in track last year.

When he started, Sahuarita head coach Joe Prince said, Conorque was afraid to jump 5 feet. He finished his junior season clearing 6-6.

“I tried to convince him that 6-6 was no fluke and he’s proved that 6-6 was no fluke,” Prince said.

Conorque has accepted a basketball scholarship at Pima Community College next year, but he could still explore potential offers from colleges interested in his track skills.

“There are a whole bunch of people who can jump 6-6 and 6-7 but once you get into 6-8 territory, that’s when the college coaches start to look,” assistant coach Ray Quihuis said.

According to Arizonatrack.com, Conorque is one of four athletes to clear 6-8 in the state this season.

Ironwood Ridge distance runner Steve Magnuson shattered the meet record in the 1,600 meters, winning in 4 minutes, 18.29 seconds. The previous record of 4:29.84, set last year by Sierra Vista Buena’s Michael Puett, was beaten by four runners Friday.

Magnuson’s 4:18.29 is the second-fastest time in the 1,600 this year by an Arizona runner.

CDO’s Kala Stepter’s winning 300 hurdles time of 43.68 seconds was also a meet record and the fastest time posted in the event this season by an Arizona runner. Queen Creek’s Mariah Bowers set meet records in the 200 (25.31) and 400 (58.04) and as part of her school’s 4×100 relay team (49.76) and 4×400 relay team (4:00.39).

Canyon del Oro won the girls meet with 77.5 points, edging second-place Queen Creek (72).

Laveen Cesar Chavez beat Ironwood Ridge 76-62 to win the boys portion of the meet.

Tennis regionals

Palo Verde sophomore Carlos Bermudez beat older brother Dominic Bermudez, a junior, 6-3, 6-3 to claim the Class 4A Gila Region boys singles title Friday.

Sahuaro’s Shane Foster (Kino) and Catalina Foothills player Zach Haffer (Sonoran) also won singles titles.

On the girls side, Douglas’ Alexis Romero (Gila), Flowing Wells’ Kari Emery (Kino) and Catalina Foothills’ Zaina Sufi (Sonoran) won singles titles.

• Prep scores and stats, Page 5C

High School Sports Editor Geoff Grammer contributed to this article.

Freelance
SOFTBALL

ASH FRIEDERICH

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

Cienega High School pitcher Alexa Cash carried a no-hit shutout into the seventh inning and struck out 14 Sahuaro hitters in a 7-3 win Friday, essentially securing the Class 4A Kino Region title for the red-hot Bobcats.

Cienega is 21-6 overall and 9-0 in league play. The Bobcats have won 13 straight. Second-place Sahuaro is 20-7 and 7-2 in Kino play.

Cash, who got the final nine outs of the game with strikeouts, said her familiarity with the Cougars, who they’ve played six times in the past two seasons, helped in Friday’s win.

“The coaches and catchers did a good job remembering what they could and couldn’t hit,” said Cash, whose no-hitter was broken up in the seventh by a single to left field by Sahuaro’s Morgan McKeever.

“They have really good hitters and they did a good job seeing the ball and coming through whenever they needed to in the seventh.”

Cienega gave Cash all the run support she needed in the first two innings. After scoring two in the first, the Bobcats added four in the second, chasing Sahuaro starting pitcher Courtney McCoy.

“I was going in saying I need to get it done for the team,” said Cienega’s Brittany Keiser, who finished 4 for 4 and scored three runs. “We used our momentum to keep on pushing today. We had to roll over them early.”

Sahuaro lost 4-3 in 13 innings to Cienega on Wednesday in the continuation of a game that started April 14 but was suspended in the 12th inning because of darkness.

Trailing 7-0 Friday heading into the final inning, Sahuaro began a rally with McKeever’s single and managed to score three runs before Cash shut the door.

“We had some shaky innings, but we did really well battling back,” McKeever said.

Jessica Schneider’s double into the alley scored two and she scored two batters later.

“We just had to come out and play hard,” Schneider said about the strong finish.

“I just wanted to get a hit, that’s what I was thinking about. When you’re down, you can’t fall, you have to pick yourself up and that’s what we did.”

Cienega won its 18th straight home game dating back to last year.

“The girls played really well and we always talk about how we can definitely get it done with the bats,” Bobcats coach Eric Tatham said. “We’re using this as a measuring stick for the state tournament coming up. There are some great teams out there and Sahuaro is one of them.”

Canyon del Oro 17, Catalina Foothills 0 (5 innings): At Foothills, Kenzie Fowler threw a one-hitter and the CDO bats came alive for a 10-run second inning in a 4A Sonoran Region blowout.

Flowing Wells 8, Nogales 0: At Flowing Wells, junior pitcher Danielle Burnette was two outs away from throwing a no-hitter, settling for a one-hit shutout.

High School Sports Editor Geoff Grammer contributed to this article.

Freelance
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

ASH FRIEDERICH

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

After working out of a bases loaded jam in the first inning, Catalina Foothills pitcher Erin Krause was given offensive support in the bottom of the inning.

Senior Stefanie Carramusa’s three-run homer over the right field fence off Cholla pitcher Monet Ormsby put the Falcons on their way to a 4-0 win.

“I hit a home run against Ormsby at her place (in a April 8 Cholla win),” Carramusa said. “I wasn’t expecting anything in the zone. I knew everything was going to be (outside) or really inside. She threw me that rise ball high and outside. I somehow got a hold of it and hooked it over the fence.”

Carramusa’s homer was her second in as many games. Her power surge has given Foothills coach Mark Brunenkant something to build his lineup around.

“It was huge for our self-confidence,” Brunenkant said about the first-inning lead. “We knew (Carramusa) was always going to be there (for us). She’s disciplined at the plate and can do a lot of damage.”

Krause settled down after loading the bases in the bottom of the first. Krause got Marissa Gauna to ground out to Carramusa at shortstop to end the threat and Cholla never had another runner advance past second base in the game.

“I thought it went pretty well,” said Krause, who only gave up one hit, to Bianca Haro in the first. “You can’t really expect anything less from (Carramusa) because that is what she does. I felt pretty good (having the lead). We had to come out today with the big win and we did.”

Ormsby, who picked up the win April 8, struck out seven, while giving up six hits.

“They came to win and we didn’t,” said Cholla coach Mario Gastellum.

“Ormsby wasn’t herself today and they just took advantage of her. Overall this season, when we play our best game, we are tough to beat, but it’s hard when the girls don’t bring their best to the table.”

Citizen Staff Writer
PREP ROUNDUP

KEN BRAZZLE

kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com

Ricardo Mendivil underestimated his power.

Mendivil, a junior, slugged two home runs and drove in six runs to lead Sunnyside to a 12-0, five inning win over Rincon/University on Friday in a 5A-II Southern Region game.

“Before the start of the season, I was telling my friends that maybe I’d hit four home runs (this season),” Mendivil said.

Mendivil had three home runs entering the game against Rincon. He blasted his fourth in the second inning with a runner on base and came back with three-run shot in the fourth to highlight a five-run inning.

Mendivil said both home runs came off fastballs.

“He’s hot right now,” said Sunnyside coach Ernie Palomarez. “I don’t think the (home runs) were helped by the wind. He got a hold of them and went with the pitches very well. He took the outside pitches. That’s what we teach.”

Sunnyside tagged three Rincon pitchers for nine hits, three by Mendivil. Rincon hurler Sam Blake absorbed most of the damage prior to exiting in the fourth inning.

Right-hander Jose Gomez (7-2) pitched a gem for Sunnyside, going the full five innings. He allowed three hits and struck out seven.

“We’re not gelling yet,” Palomarez said. “But it’s a good sign to score as many runs as we have lately and pitchers getting complete games. That’s what you want. I am very pleased, but we’re not where we need to be.

“Next week is going to tell us a lot because it’s going to be our toughest week of the season. We have to face Mountain View, Ironwood Ridge and Salpointe.”

Softball

Sierra Vista Buena’s ace Meghan McIntosh silenced Tucson High’s batters Friday.

McIntosh pitched a no-hitter, striking out 13 and walking four.

Carissa Youngblood hit a 2-run home run in the first inning while teammate Courtney Dennis added a 2-run insurance homer in the sixth.

Sahuaro 2, Sabino 0: Junior Courtney McCoy struck out five Sabercat batters while pitching a 3-hit shutout.

Tennis

Five Tucson-area tennis teams will host first-round matches Monday in the opening round of the Class 5A Division I and 5A-II state tournaments.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association released the 5A boys and girls tournament brackets Friday.

Defending 5A-II boys champion Ironwood Ridge earned the No. 1 seed in its tournament and will host No. 16 Kingman at 12:30 p.m. Monday.

Other boys teams to qualify for the 5A state tournaments include Salpointe (No. 5 seed in the 5A-I tournament) and Rincon/University (No. 9, 5A-II).

Three Tucson-area girls teams qualified: Salpointe (No. 4, 5A-I), Ironwood Ridge (No. 4, 5A-II) and Rincon (No. 8, 5A-II). Casa Grande, which competes in the 5A-I Southern Region, earned the No. 10 seed in the 5A-I tournament.

The team tournaments conclude April 28 at the Glendale Paseo Racquet Club. The 5A individual tournaments begin Friday.

Freelance
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

RODNEY HAAS

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

Trailing 15-4 in the second game of its match with Cienega on Thursday night, the Sahuaro boys volleyball team found itself at a crossroads.

After winning Game 1, Sahuaro knew it couldn’t let Cienega regain momentum in its home gym with a one-sided Game 2 win.

Instead, the Cougars used a 15-3 run to regain momentum and went on to sweep Cienega 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-23).

“You can easily lose your focus and your intensity and we kept it up in that second game down 11 points,” said Sahuaro’s Colin Kennedy, who finished with eight kills and six blocks. “We said we were going to come back and win it and we did.”

Sahuaro coach Sandy Novak said defense helped turn Game 2 around.

“A couple of big blocks helped us do that,” she said. “It turned the momentum to our side. Volleyball is such a huge game of momentum and in that second game we didn’t have it at all, and we started getting it point by point. You can see the momentum swing to our side as we started to catch up and they started to panic.”

Sahuaro (No. 2) and Cienega (No. 3) were perched near the top of the Class 4A/5A power rankings heading into Thursday’s match.

“It gives us good momentum going into our final few weeks,” said Novak of the win. “We will have to play them in two weeks and we might end up playing them in the (state) tournament. It’s a good rivalry. It’s good for both teams, and it’s good for both schools.”

Kyle Tatum led Sahuaro with 11 kills and 23 assists. Andrew Christ led Cienega with 15 kills and 15 assists.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” Cienega coach Tyler Taylor said. “Every game was within two or three points so I felt really good on how we competed tonight.”

Baseball

Amphi took care of its home field as it shut out Catalina in a Class 4A-II Gila Region showdown Thursday afternoon.

Alan Sandoval pitched seven scoreless innings to help the Panthers get the 4-0 victory.

Sandoval struck out three and walked one.

Junior Brandon Kuhn hit a 2-run single in the third inning while teammate Martin Gradias, a sophomore, sealed it with an RBI single in the fifth.

Amphi is 9-12 overall, 4-3 in the Gila Region. Catalina is 16-6, 4-2 in league play.

Nogales 4, Cienega 0: Keith Zuniga struck out eight and threw a one-hitter to pick up the win on the road and draw even with Cienega for first place in the Class 4A-I Kino Region.

Cienega senior pitcher Seth Mejias-Brean struck out 11 in the loss.

Softball

Canyon del Oro senior pitcher Kenzie Fowler was one batter away from her second perfect game of the season when a bunt single by a Cholla hitter ended the bid.

Fowler struck out 16, including the next hitter after her perfect game bid was ended, in a 6-0 CDO win.

Freelance
TC Varsity

ASH FRIEDERICH

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

With an 8-4 doubles win from Kelley Carson and Alex Prassas, the Ironwood Ridge girls tennis team won its second-straight 5A-II Southern Region championship Wednesday, beating Rincon/University 5-3.

“I think every time we play Rincon, it’s exciting and we enjoy their competition,” Nighthawks coach Bill Little said after his team’s win at the Tucson Racquet Club. “I think it’s a very healthy thing we have going on.”

The highlight of the match came at the No. 1 singles spot where Rincon freshman Samantha Lund picked up her first win in three tries against Ironwood Ridge’s Shannon Contreras. The two battled to a third-set tiebreaker before a long Contreras return gave Lund the win, 7-5, 1-6, 12-10.

“It was really challenging, and I just had to put everything I had into it,” Lund said.

Little said the match “was a nail-biter, and it could have gone either way.”

Despite her loss in singles action, Contreras was happy with Wednesday’s results and hopes the team will do well in the state tournament.

“It’s exciting (the back-to-back regional titles) and I hope to continue it,” Contreras said.

Rincon’s loss does not eliminate it from the state tournament. After the match, Rincon held the No. 8 ranking in the state’s Power Ranking system, which determines the top 16 teams for the state tournament.

This is the first Rincon girls tennis team to reach state in 11 years.

Like their female classmates, the Ironwood Ridge boys tennis team repeated as 5A-II Southern Region champs with a win over Rincon on Wednesday.

For coach Ryan Bais’ boys team, it was the fifth straight region title, including three from when the Nighthawks competed in the 4A Sonoran Region.

The defending 5A-II boys state champion cruised to an easy 5-0 win over Rincon.

“It’s really good for our program,” said Ironwood Ridge senior Andrew Vo, who defeated James Steinke 6-1, 6-2.

“I think we came in prepared and really exceeded our expectations.”

5A-I Southern Region

Defending region champion Salpointe crushed upset-minded Sierra Vista Buena 5-0 in the 5A-I Southern Region girls tennis championship.

Salpointe clinched the victory when its first five singles players won their matches by a combined score of 60-1.

“I think we should do really well in state and hopefully we make a run,” Salpointe’s No. 3 singles player, Courtney Amos, said after her 6-0, 6-0 win over Molly Murphy.

Salpointe’s boys team also used a 5-0 win Wednesday for a region title, defeating Casa Grande.

“Everyone played well today,” said Salpointe freshman Matt Dunn, who won his match 6-0, 6-0 over Justin Crockett. “We’re really excited. At the beginning of the year, we weren’t really sure we were going to make it.”

Nighthawk girls, boys retain 5A-II region titles