Citizen Staff Writer

KEN BRAZZLE

kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com

Alexa Cash wasn’t feeling well Tuesday. In fact, she hasn’t been 100 percent in her last three starts for Cienega.

Still, as she did in her 16-strikeout performance Saturday in a 10-0 win over Glendale Apollo, Cash didn’t allow her health to stop her from dominating.

Cash allowed three hits and struck out 15 Tuesday, leading No. 1 Cienega to a 5-0 win over No. 9 Scottsdale Saguaro in the Class 4A Division I quarterfinals.

“I haven’t been feeling too well,” Cash said. “I am not sure what it is, but I wanted to go today.”

Cienega coach Eric Tatham had backup pitcher Brittany Johnson ready to go in case Cash wasn’t able to go.

Her teammates made things easy on her in the fifth inning, scoring four runs. Three of those came from an inside-the-park home run by leadoff hitter Brittany Keiser.

“That’s what is great about Alexa,” Tatham said. “Once she gets staked to a lead, she’s cash money.”

Keiser was equally impressed.

“She was sick all day and having to throw that game was amazing,” Keiser said. “I don’t know of anybody that can do that.”

Cienega plays No. 12 Catalina Foothills in Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal at University of Arizona’s Hillenbrand Stadium.

Fowler throws 4th straight no-hitter

In the fourth inning Tuesday, Kenzie Fowler and Canyon del Oro were working on a fourth straight no-hitter and the all-world pitcher had struck out all 11 Glendale Cactus batters she had faced.

The hard windup and . . .

The ball went sailing vertically out of her hand, landing behind her.

It was a strange twist of imperfection for the reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year, who didn’t allow a hit Tuesday in an 8-0 win over No. 7 Glendale Cactus in the 4A-I quarterfinals.

“I haven’t done that since I was 10,” Fowler said of the mishap.

The no-hitter for Fowler and No. 2 CDO extends to four her streak of no hitters, including two games in which she threw perfect games (no hits, no walks, no errors). Fowler struck out 16 hitters in her final game at CDO.

Adding to her domination, she was 4-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and stole a base. She walked two, giving extra notice that she is human, not bionic.

“She never surprises me,” said head coach and former CDO banner player Amy Swiderski. “She works as hard as any pitcher I’ve seen.”

Fowler said afterward she isn’t interested in keeping up the no-hit streak.

“We don’t know stats,” said Fowler. “The coaches take care of that.”

CDO’s Taylor Watkins doubled and tripled and scored twice for the Dorados, who play No. 3 Scottsdale Chaparral at Phoenix’s Rose Mofford Park in Thursday’s 4A-I semifinals.

No. 12 Catalina Foothills 11, No. 4 Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor 4: At Phoenix, Foothills pulled off its second road upset in the playoffs, setting up Thursday’s semifinal with Cienega.

No. 3 Scottsdale Chaparral 1, No. 6 Sahuaro 0: At Scottsdale, Sahuaro, last year’s 4A-I runner-up, finished the season with a 22-8 record.

Class 4A Division II

No. 12 Gilbert Perry upset No. 4 Douglas, 6-2, in the 4A-II quarterfinals in Douglas. The Bulldogs ended the season 29-4.

Junior pitcher Erika Tapia finished the season with a 25-2 record and 217 strikeouts.

Girls Tennis

The Pusch Ridge girls tennis team beat Thatcher 5-4 to advance to Friday’s Class 2A/3A tennis semifinals against Phoenix Country Day at the Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale.

The doubles team of Sami Towne and Tanya Hetlinger won the No. 2 match to seal it for Pusch Ridge 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

Boys golf

Immaculate Heart’s Ian Patterson shot a two-round 144 for a fourth-place finish Tuesday in the 1A/2A boys golf state championship. Pusch Ridge’s Lou Christensen (146) was fifth.

Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS

CHRISTOPHER VECK

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

PEORIA – Anthem Boulder Creek mounted a sixth- inning rally Tuesday, coming from behind to beat Sunnyside 4-3 in the Class 5A Division II softball tournament.

“It’s the old cliche,” Sunnyside coach Pete Palomarez said. “Somebody’s got to win, somebody’s got to lose. It just didn’t happen. The better team won today.”

Sunnyside was one of three southern Arizona teams to end their seasons in Class 5A tournaments in the Phoenix-area Tuesday. Salpointe and Sierra Vista Buena were eliminated from the 5A-I tournament.

Going into the fifth with a 3-1 lead, Blue Devil pitcher Mari Contreras loaded the bases but got out of the mess, allowing just one Boulder Creek run.

In the sixth, Boulder Creek’s Tara Wright, who had three hits and three RBIs in the game, tied the score 3-3 with an RBI. With, with the bases loaded again, Contreras hit Boulder Creek’s Melissa Dewitt, bringing in the game-winning run.

Boulder Creek pitcher Michelle Orr kept the Devils’ hitters in check the rest of the afternoon.

“We were off balance all game,” Palomarez said. “We couldn’t figure her out.”

Contreras started the game strong, but Boulder Creek’s patient bats were able to overcome solid pitching. Contreras struck out nine and walked three.

Sunnyside took a 2-1 lead in the second inning off a two-RBI single from Jenessa Martinez.

Sunnyside catcher Desaray Akins hit the game’s lone extra-base hit, a double to right-centerfield, driving in the Blue Devils’ final run.

“We didn’t play well the last couple of games, but that’s not going to take away from the great season we had,” Palomarez said.

Class 5A Division I

No. 6 Salpointe fell to No. 2 Phoenix St. Mary’s 3-0 on Tuesday at Tempe Marcos de Niza High School, ending the year with a 26-10 record. No. 4 Sierra Vista Buena lost 2-0 to No. 1 Mesa Red Mountain, ending the year with a 25-9 record.

Citizen Staff Report

Softball

Games at 4 p.m.

Class 5A Division I

(at Tempe Marcos de Niza HS)

> No. 4 Sierra Vista Buena vs. No. 1 Mesa Red Mountain

> No. 6 Salpointe vs. No. 2 Phoenix St. Mary’s

Class 5A Division II

(at Peoria Sunrise Mountain)

> No. 5 Sunnyside vs. No. 8 Anthem Boulder Creek

Class 4A Division I

> No. 9 Scottsdale Saguaro at No. 1 Cienega

> No. 12 Catalina Foothills at No. 4 Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor

> No. 6 Sahuaro at No. 3 Scottsdale Chaparral

> No. 7 Glendale Cactus at No. 2 Canyon del Oro

Class 4A Division I

> No. 12 Gilbert Perry at No. 4 Douglas

Girls Tennis

Match at 3 p.m.

2A/3A quarterfinal

Thatcher vs. Pusch Ridge at Hilton El Conquistador Resort

Golf

Day 2 of 2 – 8 a.m.

> Class 1A/2A at Cave Creek Golf Course

> Class 3A at Poston Butte Golf Club in Florence

Citizen Staff Writers and Freelance
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

KEN BRAZZLE

kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com

If there was any question whether Sahuaro was ready for the postseason, the Cougars answered Monday with a dominating win over Flowing Wells.

Sahuaro, the top seed in the Class 4A/5A Division II boys volleyball tournament, used fast starts in all three games to beat up on No. 16 Flowing Wells 3-0 (25-15, 25-7, 25-20).

“We came out fired up,” said Sahuaro coach Sandy Novak. “The seniors know this is their last shot.”

Sahuaro hosts No. 8 Cienega at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 4A/5A-II quarterfinals. Cienega swept Palo Verde 3-0 in Monday’s opening round.

In Monday’s win at Sahuaro, the Cougars jumped out to 14-3 leads in each of the first two games, trying to quickly erase any thoughts visiting Flowing Wells had of pulling off the first-round upset.

“(As the No. 1 seed) we know that we are the team with the target on our backs,” Novak said. “We have to play like we can handle it and we can.”

Although the score in the third game was much closer, Sahuaro was never in jeopardy of losing.

“We passed really well, which set up our offense,” Novak said. “We had some big kills.”

Dillon Kennedy finished with seven kills to lead Sahuaro 32-3.

Sahuaro had three others – Kyle Tatum, Scott Salerno and Bryce Brucker – with six kills.

Mitchell Toone and Kyle Tatum added 15 assists.

No. 3 Catalina 3, No. 14 Phoenix Barry Goldwater 0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-13): At Catalina, Marcellious Gibbs made the most of his first start of the season.

Gibbs had 12 kills as the Trojans defended their home court and advanced to Wednesday’s quarterfinals; they will host No. 6 Tempe McClintock at 6:30 p.m.

“I thought we played well and handled business,” said Gibbs, a sophomore. “If we had a tough situation, our setter Jared (Simte) got us out of it. . . . If we need the kill, I’m there for the support to get a kill or two.”

During the second game, Gibbs picked up three straight kills and capped a 7-0 run, putting the Trojans up 18-7.

“He’s really been working hard the past two weeks in practice,” Catalina coach Heather Moore-Martin said. “With how good Marcellious was playing, I couldn’t keep him off the floor. He kept working really hard in the middle and getting up for the quick (shots). He earned a spot (on the starting rotation) and was able to retain it.”

Catalina (35-3) beat Goldwater 3-1 earlier in the season, and never felt threatened in Monday’s match.

“I was nervous because it was the first round of state,” said Simte, one of the team’s four seniors, who had 30 assists. “We did a really good job of establishing our middles and once we got that going, we got our outside hitting going. (Gibbs) is our secret weapon in state.”

Goldwater was forced into several errors, allowing Catalina to make several big runs and control the tempo. Catalina also served up 10 aces.

“We weren’t into it and got lazy,” Goldwater hitter T.J. Tallent said. “They got a lot of aces on us and killed us on passing.”

ASH FRIEDERICH

sports@tucsoncitizen.com

Class 4A/5A Division I

The Salpointe boys volleyball team controlled its match against No. 13 Chandler Basha in the first round of the Class 4A/5A Division I state tournament.

The fourth-seeded Lancers won 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-20) and host No. 5 Gilbert Mesquite at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

Class 1A/2A Boys Golf

Pusch Ridge’s Lou Christensen shot an even-par 72 (third place) and Immaculate Heart’s Ian Patterson fired a 74 (tied for fifth), and both are in the top five heading into Tuesday’s final-round action of the 1A/2A boys golf championship at the Cave Creek Golf Course.

Staff writer Raymond Suarez contributed to this article.

Citizen Staff Writer
TC Varsity

JONATHAN FRANKEL

The Arizona Republic

GLENDALE – A dehydrated Anthony Monestero pulled out a victory on Friday to send No. 3 Palo Verde High School to the Class 4A Division II boys state tennis team finals.

On Saturday at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale, he was called on again.

With his team tied at 4 with fourth-ranked Chandler Seton Catholic, Monestero faced Vincent Lenzi with the state championship on the line.

Lenzi, playing with shin splints in both legs and suffering through several muscle cramps, took the first set 6-2. Monestero then took advantage of Lenzi’s injuries, capturing the next two sets 6-3 and 6-2, giving Palo Verde the 5-4 win and the state crown.

“It just feels really good,” Monestero said. “This is my senior year, and I feel like I’m on top of the world right now.”

The championship is the first boys tennis state title for Palo Verde, which opened in 1963.

“It’s really been nice to play against high-caliber players like that,” Titans coach Dan Ireland said. “Coming in every match, we knew it would be close, so it makes it exciting that way.”

Palo Verde’s Carlos Bermudez, the 4A-II boys state singles champion, had a big day. He helped give his team an early 2-1 lead after he and Matthew Berger won their doubles matches, and Bermudez won his singles match over Dennis Rodgers 6-1, 6-1.

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
TC Varsity

TIM TYERS

The Arizona Republic

GLENDALE – One program was seeking its fifth straight Class 4A Division I championship, while the other is in the fifth year of building its program.

Tradition won out.

Catalina Foothills High School finished its blitz through the Class 4A-I state boys tennis tournament Saturday as it hammered upstart Goodyear Millennium 5-0 at Glendale’s Paseo Racquet Center to capture its fifth straight boys title.

“We are better than I thought we were,” Foothills coach Robb Salant said. “We’re just too deep. You can’t see a weak spot in our lineup. Compared to our last five championship teams, I’d say this team ranks somewhere between two and three. I say that because we’re solid 1-6, but we don’t have much beyond that. But those six are pretty darned good.”

Foothills got off to a strong start, winning all three doubles matches. The third doubles victory came when juniors Zach Hoffor and Dan Hyman upset freshmen brothers and recently crowned 4A-I state champions Hunter and Yates Johnson 8-4.

“To show what I know, I didn’t think we’d win that match,” Salant said. “But my two kids were too big and strong for them. Going 3-0 in the doubles was huge. How can you come back from that? You’d have to win five of the six singles matches and that’s never been done.”

Foothills quickly sewed up the match when sophomore Wade Heerboth downed Millennium senior Billy Mlsek 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles, and senior No. 4 Mike Tringali topped Nate Kobylinski 6-2, 6-1.

The Arizona Republic
TC Varsity

ANDREW PENTIS

The Arizona Republic

GLENDALE – After nearly three-and-a-half hours of tennis Saturday, Abby Cochran was so delighted to join her celebrating teammates that she left her racket on the court.

All the while her coach, Kristie Stevens, was fighting back tears.

That’s because Cochran won her team’s deciding singles match as second-seeded Catalina Foothills won the Class 4A Division I state team title 5-4 over No. 4 Scottsdale Chaparral, securing the team’s ninth championship at the school this decade.

With the match tied 4-4, the No. 5 singles pairing competed under the watch of all in attendance. Cochran topped Chaparral’s Lauren Harrison 6-2, 6-3.

“It feels good to pull it out for my team,” she said.

Catalina Foothills had won the team portion of the state championship every year since 2000 – until last season when Chaparral ended the streak.

After losing two of three doubles matches, Catalina Foothills needed to dominate singles play.

It did.

“That was a lot of pressure on the girls, and they all came through.” Stevens said.

Fourth-seeded Chaparral’s attempt at a clean sweep of the postseason’s singles, doubles and team titles was derailed as its top three players were defeated in crucial matches.

State champs in doubles, Molly Ruby and Elizabeth Hammond couldn’t hold onto a 5-4 lead and lost 8-6 to Catalina Foothills’ Zaina Sufi and Sam Ruth.

Sufi also beat rival Nikki Parker 6-1, 6-2 one week after the reverse occurred in the state singles final.

“It’s great coming back and winning after a loss to her and especially because she’s such a great player,” Sufi said.

Citizen Staff Report and The Arizona Republic
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

Citizen Staff Report and The Arizona Republic

On the first day of the Class 4A Gila Region track championship, Catalina High School’s Owai Khairandesh set a meet record of 1 minute, 58.19 seconds in the 800 meters Thursday at Amphi.

Teammate Daniel McIver edged Sahuarita’s Daniel Conorque in the high jump, clearing 6-feet, 6-inches to Conorque’s 6-4. Each jump surpassed Conorque’s 2008 meet record of 6-2.

Catalina’s boys lead second place Rio Rico 74-43 heading into Saturday’s final day of action.

In the girls meet, Catalina’s Magda Mankel (12:06.23) beat Rio Rico’s Aeoleone Bristow (12:27.92) in the 3,200.

Catalina’s girls (42) are beating Rio Rico (23) after four events.

Softball: 5A playoffs

At Phoenix’s Rose Mofford Park, No. 6 Salpointe Catholic beat No. 10 Mesa Dobson 5-1 to advance in the 5A Division I elimination bracket.

The Lancers play No. 11 Tempe Corona del Sol at Tempe Marcos de Niza High School at noon Saturday.

No. 5 Yuma Cibola 1, No. 16 Rincon/University 0 (9 innings): At Phoenix, Rincon’s ride ended Thursday when Cibola’s Alexis Gorman hit a one-out, ninth-inning single that scored Isabella Olea for the game’s only run.

Rincon (19-14) pitcher Kelsi Redding struck out 12 hitters.

“Rincon’s pitcher kept us off- balance,” Cibola coach Shelly Bauman said. “She did her job. It was tough.”

Baseball: 5A playoffs

Ironwood Ridge (17-13), the 15th seed, sent 16 batters to the plate in the top of the fifth inning, scoring 11 runs on 10 hits and beat No. 11 Tolleson 14-0 in five innings in a 5A-II elimination game.

“If this was video game, we would have unplugged it a long time ago and started over,” Tolleson coach Scott Richardson said.

Ironwood Ridge pitcher Kyle Kilgore allowed two hits while battling stomach flu all week.

“In the beginning of the game, I felt a little queasy,” he said. “But as the game went on, the nerves came down and adrenaline took over. I had my stuff today.”

Ironwood Ridge plays Peoria Centennial at 1 p.m. Saturday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

(5A-II) No. 6 Peoria Centennial 5, No. 7 Sunnyside 2: The Blue Devils finish the season at 21-10.

(5A-I) No. 12 Salpointe 9, No. 9 Mesa Red Mountain 6: Michael Duarte went 3 for 4 with three RBIs for Salpointe, which plays No. 4 Phoenix Desert Vista at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

KEN BRAZZLE

kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com

Salpointe Catholic High School boys volleyball coach Amy Johnson likes how her team has been playing down the stretch.

Salpointe defeated Mountain View 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-12) Thursday to capture the Class 5A Southern Region tournament championship.

“We’re right where we need to be,” Johnson said. “There are a couple of adjustments we’ll make depending on who we’ll play next week (in the state tournament).”

Salpointe will host a first-round match Monday in the Class 5A/4A Division I state tournament. That opponent has not yet been determined as tournament brackets are not expected to be released until Friday by the Arizona Interscholastic Association.

The Lancers endured ups and downs, especially in the second game, before getting on track.

Mountain View led 11-7 in Game 2 before Salpointe mounted a comeback.

“We were much more consistent in the second game. I yelled at them a little bit,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if that fired them up or what. . . . We need to be more consistent in everything.”

Salpointe got 14 kills from Alex Chavez and 29 assists from Pat Tunnell. Franc Smith contributed 16 digs.

Mountain View got 11 assists from Kris Darris and four kills from Richie Hamm.

Kino championship

At Palo Verde, No. 1 seed Sahuaro beat Rincon/University 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-14, 25-12).

Sonoran championship

Top seed Catalina Foothills swept Ironwood Ridge 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-21).

Gila championship

Catalina, the region’s top seed, beat Amphi 3-0 for the Gila tournament championship.

Citizen Staff and Wire Report

Citizen Staff and Wire Report

For the second year in a row, the University of Arizona football team showed improvement in the NCAA’s annual Academic Progress Rate report.

The Wildcats fell one point below the NCAA’s minimum score of 925, or a 50 percent graduation rate – and were ninth in the Pac-10, only ahead of Washington State (918). But because UA showed significant improvement from last year (902), the Cats were not penalized.

In 2007 and 2006, UA lost a total of six football scholarships because of poor APR reports.

All the other Arizona teams performed higher than 925 – including the men’s indoor track program (938), which lost one scholarship this season because of a score of 921 last year.

No Pac-10 teams were penalized this season.

The scores are calculated based on data from the fall semester in 2004 through the spring semester in 2008. Each athlete receives one point per semester for remaining academically eligible and another point each semester for remaining at that school or graduating.

A mathematical formula is used to correlate a final team score, with 1,000 points being perfect. Teams that fall below 925 annually can be subjected to immediate penalties.

Across the nation, the overall four-year Division I APR increased three points to 964. And the overall scores in baseball, football and men’s basketball all showed improvement over the 2003-04 numbers.

Centenary’s men’s basketball team and Tennessee-Chattanooga’s football squad, however, didn’t make the grade with the NCAA and it cost them a chance to compete for a national championship next season.

Those teams became the first to be banned from postseason play because of poor APR scores. Jacksonville State’s football team, which is appealing a postseason ban, could join them. A decision is expected within six weeks.

NCAA president Myles Brand said Wednesday’s announcement sends a message to the nation’s college teams: Repeatedly failing to make grades comes at a heavy cost.

“I think it is a watershed because it shows the depth and severity of the penalties for schools that cannot come into compliance with academic performance,” Brand said during a conference call. “Think back as a mode of comparison to when we have recruiting infractions, and we withhold them from postseason play, that’s a big deal.”

Next year, schools with four straight years of poor scores could face the NCAA’s most severe penalty – restricted Division I membership for the entire athletic department.

Ten schools were cited in both football and men’s basketball but only two – Alabama-Birmingham and New Mexico State – play in college football’s top level. UAB was the only school in major football to receive a reduction in practice times in both sports.

The SEC led the six biggest conferences with five teams penalized. Mississippi and Minnesota were the only BCS schools sanctioned in football.

McNeese State led all schools with eight teams sanctioned, while Nicholls State was next with six.

LATEST UA ACADEMIC PROGRESS REPORT SCORES

(925 is minimum)

Men’s sports

Baseball 930

Basketball 949

Cross country 1,000

Football 924

Golf 957

Swimming 951

Tennis 945

Track (indoor) 938

Track (outdoor) 939

Women’s sports

Basketball 946

Cross country 965

Golf 975

Gymnastics 987

Soccer 992

Softball 945

Swimming 974

Tennis 965

Track (indoor) 953

Track (outdoor) 949

Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

RAYMOND SUAREZ

rsuarez@tucsoncitizen.com

The Sahuaro High girls softball team advanced to the finals of the Class 4A Kino Region tournament, but it took extra innings to get the job done.

The No. 2-seeded Cougars defeated No. 3 Sabino 4-3 in eight innings.

Morgan McKeever led off the bottom of the inning with a double and after being bunted over to third, she scored on Jessica Schneider’s sacrifice fly.

Sahuaro will play No. 1 Cienega at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Cherry Field.

No. 2 Sahuarita 12, No. 3 Palo Verde 11: The Mustangs scored two runs in the seventh to advance in the 4A Gila game. Sahuarita will play No. 1 Douglas at Cherry Field at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Baseball

The Nogales offense came alive in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Trailing 2-1, the Apaches scored five runs in the inning and went on to the 8-3 victory over Sabino in the semifinals of the 4A Kino Region tournament.

Juan Espiricueta pitched four innings and struck out seven. He helped his own cause with a home run. Nogales will play No. 1 Cienega at Cherry Field at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

No. 3 Amphi 10, No. 2 Douglas 3: In the 4A Gila semifinal, Alan Sandoval pitched a complete game for the Panthers. Amphi will play No. 1 Sahuarita at Cherry Field at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

BRYAN LEE

brylee@tucsoncitizen.com

He’s 6-feet-5 and could use a few more pounds on his wiry frame, but that’s the only possible catch to Zakary Kelly’s on-court presence.

The way the Ironwood Ridge senior haunts the volleyball net like a veteran, he must have been practically born with a ball in his hands.

Actually, Kelly, an outside hitter, began playing the sport last year and his development continues to amaze coach Bill Lang.

“He’s a late bloomer,” said Lang after Kelly registered 13 kills in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-17) homecourt victory against Cholla on Thursday.

“It was hard for him at the beginning. He was sick early this year and lost five pounds, but he has recovered well.”

Catching on quickly and being able to help the rangy Nighthawk frontline dominate rivals in the second part of the season has a lot to do with senior setter Sean Ham.

“We have developed trust and we know where the ball is going to be,” said Kelly of his setter. “He kind of quietly does the job.”

Ham had 31 assists and six kills Thursday night in his sneaky, effective way as the Nighthawks (14-9) were in trouble just twice. They yielded an early lead in the first game and had to rally from an 8-4 deficit in the third game. Ham served three crucial kills set like slow motion up and thunder down.

“I haven’t been as consistent as I should be,” Kelly said. “I had a couple of bad moves, but the way we can move the ball to the corner helps us.”

Lang calls it ball control.

“You can have the best guys, but it all depends on how we move it,” he said. “We’re going well now in time for the regionals next week.

“I guess you could say, yes, we have a dynamic front line.”

Kelly-Ham duo has Nighthawks on the rise at regionals loom

‘You can have the best guys, but it all depends on how we move it.’

BILL LANG,

Ironwood Ridge volleyball coach

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.

Citizen Staff Writer
TC Varsity

RAYMOND SUAREZ

rsuarez@tucsoncitizen.com

When eighth-grader Kala Stepter dominated at a middle school track meet in 2005, her mom, former Olympic hurdler LaTanya Sheffield, was excited about the high school career that lay ahead.

“I have done my thing, and now it is time for a changing of the guard,” Sheffield told the Tucson Citizen in 2005. “This is her time now.”

Stepter hasn’t quit shining; she’s one of Arizona’s elite high school hurdlers. With less than a month to go in her high school career, the record-setting Stepter has set her sights squarely on winning next month’s Class 4A Division I 300 hurdles title.

After she set the 4A state record in the event at last week’s Mario Castro Invitational in a blistering 43.68 seconds, who would doubt she can achieve the goal? She snapped a 17-year mark set in 1992 by Tolleson’s Adra Hysong (44.21).

“I was just as surprised as anyone,” Stepter said of her record. “It was announced as I was walking away after receiving my medal. I celebrated by running the 4×400 (-meter relay race).”

As grateful as she is for the record, she wants another.

The state’s all-classes record of 42.67 seconds set in 1985 by Scottsdale Chaparral’s Christy Nore is the next hurdle Stepter hopes to clear as her prolific high school career winds down.

“I’ll do anything to break the record,” she said.

A record-setting time would likely assure her of a 4A-I state championship medal in the event, something that has eluded her.

As a freshman, Stepter finished third at the 4A-I state championship meet, followed by second-place finishes as a sophomore and a junior.

“I’ve missed it three years in a row and it’s all been a battle,” she said. “I’m going for first; this is the way you want to go out.”

CDO head track coach Jim Truitt, who coached at the school from 1981-86 and again since 2003, said Stepter is “the greatest female hurdler I’ve ever seen.”

“She’s the epitome of everything you hope for,” Truitt said. “She’s a talented athlete with great work ethic and character to back it up.”

Her mom has helped coach her every step of the way.

Sheffield burst onto the track scene in 1985 by setting an American record, and winning an NCAA championship, in the 400-meter hurdles in 44.66. She competed in the 1988 Olympics and remained one of the country’s premiere hurdlers before retirement in 2000.

Sheffield is a sprint coach at CDO.

“A lot of people think with your mom, she’ll go easy on you. She constantly works us,” Stepter said, referring also to her younger sister and fellow CDO track star Jaide, a freshman.

“I love her, but she is a tough coach.”

Stepter said her emergence in hurdles was also due to CDO assistant coach Michelle Gerard.

“I can say I like the balance of my coaches,” Stepter said.

“Mom is tough and Michelle Gerard, my hurdles coach, is more laid back.”

After her high school career ends – the 4A state meet is May 16 at Mesa Community College – Stepter will take her 4.2 grade point average to Stanford, where she will continue her track career.

“Stanford will be good to nurture me both academically and athletically,” Stepter said.

Sheffield said she knows it will be a bittersweet moment when Stepter heads off to college, but Sheffield is excited about the opportunities ahead.

“It has been very exciting to watch a young athlete grow up to be athletically inclined,” Sheffield said. “The cherry on top is she belongs to me and my husband (Keith).

“That kind of feeling is like an amazing banana split.

“I feel confident we have instilled the mechanism to survive in her. There is a place in the world for her.”

AMONG THE BEST

Canyon del Oro senior Kala Stepter has the fastest time in the 300-meter hurdles this season in Arizona.

2009 season

(source: Arizonatrack.com)

Kala Stepter, CDO 43.68

Kathy Fisher, Sahuaro 44.63

Lindsey Honea, Marana 44.69

Breanna Leslie, V. Christian 45.7

All-classes records

(source: AIA record book)

5A – Christy Nore (1985), 42.67

4A – Kala Stepter (2009), 43.68

3A – Nicole Nevitt (2004), 44.44

2A – Jamie Cluff (2002), 43.45

1A – Martha Hernandez (1986), 47.32