Baseball Playoffs

DIVISION I

Second Round: Tuesday, May 1
16 Cienega at 1 Pinnacle, 4 pm

The game between Cienega (22-10) and Pinnacle (21-12) is not a typical 16 vs. 1 game. Such a matching would have been a first round game in prior years but the Bobcats have already moved past any kind of post season jitters due to the new 24-team brackets.

From a coach’s point of view, Cienega’s 6-5 victory over Valley Vista on Saturday gives them a leg up on Pinnacle. Games are much more important than practices at this stage and it’s win or go home.

The Bobcats may see ASU bound Eric Melbostad on the mound.

DIVISION II

Second Round: Tuesday, May 1
3 Sabino hosts 19 Coconino, 4 pm

Sabino (24-5) played all of their power point games against Division I and II opponents and came out of that with a 16-2 record. Coconino (18-10), on the other hand, played against nine Division III teams due to their geographic location (Flagstaff).

The travel distance alone might stall Coconino because getting to Sabino High School is no picnic, even after you get to Tucson.

4 Douglas hosts 13 Gila Ridge, 4 pm

Hard to judge Gila Ridge because they played against three California schools, Cibola four times, Kofa three times, Yuma three times and San Luis three times. Douglas had to play against ten D-III opponents.

Toss up.

9 Canyon del Oro at 8 Sunnyslope, 4 pm

CDO (22-7) missed out on a first-round bye due to their loss to Salpointe at the end of the regular season. Win that game and Sunnyslope (24-9) is traveling to CDO instead.

Sunnyslope will probably go with sophomore Calvin LeBrun on the mound. Having played the extra game will help CDO.

10 Salpointe at 7 Verrado, 4 pm

Verrado has only lost two game all year but they are only ranked seventh in power points. That says a lot about their opponents. Salpointe (22-7) has about 10 or so college players on their roster.

This should be a Lancer victory.

21 Sahuaro at 5 Liberty, 4 pm

Sahuaro (20-8) is riding high after they defeated Ironwood Ridge on Saturday while Liberty was idle.

Liberty had a very, very weak schedule thus, the problem with power points as an accurate measure, is once again called into question.

DIVISION III

First Round: Tuesday, May 1
Surprise Stadium
10 Empire vs. 23 Ganado, 7 pm

Ganado is located north of I-40 near the New Mexico border. That will lesson the sting of Empire having to travel for this game even though they are the higher seed.

Look for an Empire win, Willcox loss, and wins by Thatcher and Tombstone.

11 Willcox vs. 2 Combs, 7 pm
12 Thatcher vs. 21 Safford, EAC, 4pm
13 Tombstone vs. 20 Page, 3:30 pm

DIVISION IV

First Round: Tuesday, May 1
Tempe Diablo
2 St. David, BYE
6 Desert Christian, BYE
7 Pusch Ridge, BYE
15 Tanque Verde vs. 18 Miami, 4 pm

Tanque Verde on a roll after a very difficult start. Miami has a losing record (8-10) when it comes to power points.

Valley Union and San Manuel are evenly matched with their opponents.

19 Valley Union vs. 14 Williams, 3:30 pm
22 San Manuel vs. 11 Ashfork, 7 pm

Softball Playoffs

DIVISION I

Second Round: Tuesday, May 1
10 Buena at 7 Cibola, 4 pm

Cibola played the same teams multiple times due to travel restrictions placed on Yuma schools but they did beat Sunnyside and Buena lost to the Blue Devils.

This game can go either way.

12 Cienega at 5 Mountain Ridge, 4 pm

Cienega goes in with a freshman pitcher (Kayla Green) and junior Sarah Andrews while Mountain Ridge has senior Amanda Cole (Paradise Valley CC) and a freshman standout of their own in Kaylin Ayotte.

Cienega always seems to find a way.

22 Tucson at 6 Horizon, 4 pm

Tamara Statman is another freshman sensation. Statman’s name is very appropriate with her high batting average and commanding pitching numbers. Throw in junior Margaret Stahm and this could be along night for Tucson.

Is Tucson just happy to be in the tournament? Junior Araselly Vargas came up big for the Badgers on Saturday. Who will step up next?

DIVISION II

Second Round: Tuesday, May 1
2 Canyon del Oro hosts 15 Queen Creek, 4 pm

Sammi Noland (Nebraska) is back from her head injury. That was the last thing Queen Creek wanted to hear. All-American Kayla Bonstrom (Stanford), Alexis Aguirre (Yavapai) and Sammy Nettling (Northwestern) are also college-bound.

Queen Creek does have a trio of stars of their own to battle the Dorados with pitcher Amanda Baldwin (Missouri-St. Louis), shortstop Raianna Dobbs (ASU) and Kelsey Montgomery (Indiana State).

Baldwin has 11 home runs and has collected 209 strike outs from the circle. CDO should not take this lightly.

3 Ironwood Ridge hosts 14 Sahuaro, 4 pm

Who would have guessed at the beginning of the season that one of these two powerhouses would be sent home so early? Not me.

This is a championship game taking place in the second round. Sahuaro did not take care of business early on so they now find themselves playing one of the best teams in the state. This is the game of the day.

7 Sabino hosts 10 Notre Dame, 4 pm

Tess McPherson (Texas Tech) has thrown an incredible 246 strike outs in 171 innings of work and she also leads her team with 30 RBIs and 5 home runs.

Sabino can combat that with two stars with high batting averages. Sophomore Kelsey Jenkins (.528) and freshman standout Callie McGarrigle (.511) have paced the Sabercats to a winning season.

Senior pitcher Alyssa Fletcher, junior Miranda Riesgo, senior Krystina Koepnick, senior Shelby Mendoza, sophomore Ashlen Vega and junior Shannon Shields have shown this is not a one ore two person team and that just might be the difference.

If CDO and Sabino win they will have to travel to Phoenix to play each other in the next round. Not much “cost saving” there.

DIVISION III

First Round: Wednesday, May 2
Rose Mofford
4 Benson, BYE
7 Empire, BYE
10 Safford vs. 23 Show Low, 7:30 pm
13 Willcox vs. 20 Horizon Honors, 6 pm

DIVISION IV

First Round: Wednesday, May 2
Rose Mofford
1 Pusch Ridge, BYE
2 San Manuel, BYE
7 St. David, BYE
8 Desert Christian, BYE
9 St. Augustine vs. 24 Salt River, 4 pm
11 Valley Union vs. 22 Joseph City, 4 pm
16 Tanque Verde vs. 17 Tempe Prep, 4 pm

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