TEMPEΒ β It was no contest as Sabino defeated Snowflake in a 14-2 landslide at ASU's Farrington Stadium on Monday.
This is the second state title in Sabino's history and first since 2005.
The No. 7 Sabercats (21-3) were led by freshman Madison Filmore-Moreno, who went 4 for 4 with three singles and a double. Senior Cassie Castaneda also had 2 RBIs and was 3-for-5 in the win over No. 4 Snowflake (27-9).
The first inning got off to a slow start for Snowflake sophomore pitcher Anna Berger.
Berger gave up three hits (single, double and triple), three walks and four runs within the first five Sabino batters. The hits didn't stop for Sabino with Berger in the circle as she gave up two more runs in the top of the second inning as Sabino extended its lead to 6-0.
"Some games are just going to be like that," Berger said. "Nothing's ever going to go your way every time and today was just one of those days. That's just life. All I can do is just come out and play my game and hope that the rest of the team follows suit."
It was a far from Berger's typical ace performances as one of the state's best pitchers who had 100 strikeouts through 80 innings pitched during the regular season.
Snowflake senior Hallie McCray was the first player to put the Lobos on the board when she hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning. Then sophomore catcher Jordyn Powers hit a double that began to show some signs of life for Snowflake.
"These last few days, the game have been so competitive that I don't think you can really take your foot off the gas pedal," Sabino coach Chris Stainer said. "You gotta go at it until the last pitch is thrown. Was I happy that we got a four-run lead in that first inning? Sure, because our game plan was to stay disciplined and to take advantage when the pitch came our way."
Berger was subbed out for senior pitcher Sydney Bauer at top of third after Berger was took a line drive to her lower abdomen in the second inning.
"I got hit in the lower gut but I decided to just finish the inning," Berger said. "I ended up having to tighten my strike zone to help my team out but also trying to make a play but sometimes you get one back in the face or the chest or another body part when you have to come back in and pipe it to good hitters. They were amazing hitters."
The Sabino offense was unstoppable as it racked up 18 hits compared or Snowflake's five. Along with Filmore-Moreno and Castaneda's firepower at the plate, the Sabercats' Riley Carley chipped in two RBIs and Hannah Stark had Sabino's only home run, a solo shot to right field in the top of the seventh. Sydney Gray also had multiple hits for Sabino.
"We started off in the first inning hitting the ball really well and then we just went on from there," Castaneda said. "Earlier on in the season, we were on a roll, really confident and we felt good about the team. I had a feeling that I knew we were going to win state."
The Sabercats gave senior pitcher Daniella Kirchhofer much run support. She had 10 strikeouts and no walks. Kirchhofer added to the rout with her own 3 RBIs.
"It was about good pitch choice," Stainer said. "As far as defense, making sure (Danielle) and Cassie were calling the right pitches. They did a phenomenal job calling that game and defense stepped up behind them."
"I feel like it's not real," Filmore-Moreno said. "It's very surprising that we went all the way and I've learned a lot from all the senior this year. I'm going to miss them and we really earned it."
Here's a look at Tuesday's high school playoff schedule:Β
TUESDAY
Softball
Class 4A state playoffs, quarterfinals (double-elimination):
No. 1 Salpointe Catholic vs. No. 4 Mingus Union at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix, 5:30 p.m.
No. 6 Canyon del Oro vs. No. 2 Glendale Cactus at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix, 5:30 p.m.
Class 5A state playoffs, quarterfinals (double-elimination):
No. 6 Empire vs. No. 2 Peoria Centennial at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix, 5:30 p.m.
Class 6A state quarterfinals (double-elimination):
No. 12 Tucson High vs. No. 1 Pinnacle at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Baseball
Class 4A state semifinals:
No. 2 Salpointe Catholic vs. No. 6 Casa Grande Vista Grande at Amphitheater High School, 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY
Softball
Class 5A state playoffs, quarterfinals (elimination game):
No. 3 Ironwood Ridge vs. loser of No. 9 Surprise Willow Canyon/No. 5 Scottsdale Horizon at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix, 6:30 p.m.
Class 5A state playoffs, quarterfinals (elimination game):
No. 4 Sunnyside vs. loser of No. 6 Empire/No. 2 Peoria Centennial at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix, 6:30 p.m.
Baseball
Class 5A state semifinals:
No. 1 Nogales vs. winner of No. 12 Peoria Sunrise Mountain/No. 4 Scottsdale Desert Mountain at Tempe Diablo Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
Baseball
Class 3A state playoffs, semifinals:
No. 5 Sahuarita 4 vs. No. 9 Phoenix Northwest Christian at Surprise Sports Complex, 6:30 p.m.
No. 6 Sabino 10 vs. No. 2 Queen Creek American Leadership Academy at Surprise Sports Complex, 6:30 p.m.
