Robyn Opple broke through and hit a walk-off RBI single to lift third-seeded Sahuaro to a 1-0 win in a 12-inning pitchers’ duel against No. 6 Salpointe Catholic, in the third round of the Division II state tournament.
Opple, a sophomore first baseman/outfielder went 1 for 5 on Thursday night, in what she says was easily the longest game she’s played in.
“I didn’t want to go deep in the count, so I just wanted to go swinging early at anything good,” Opple said with a laugh.
The Cougars (25-8) face No. 2 Ironwood Ridge, on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. I-Ridge rolled to a 10-0 win against No. 23 Casa Grande on Thursday to move on.
Salpointe (19-6) drops in the loser’s bracket and faces No. 23 Casa Grande on Saturday at noon at Rose Mofford in an elimination game. The Lancers beat Casa Grande 2-1 last week on the road.
Sahuaro junior pitcher Lexy Coons struck out 19 while Salpointe senior Brianna Aguilar-Beaucage had a no hitter going through 6-1/3 innings and finished with 16 strikeouts.
Sahuaro coach Jeff Fowler said this is the longest game he’s ever coached.
The winning run, sophomore shortstop Ashley Bradford, got on via a bad hop that bounced over Salpointe senior third baseman Megan Flores. Then sophomore third baseman Jasmin Lopez singled to advance Bradford to third.
Salpointe sophomore outfielder Yannira Acuna had two extra-base hits in extra innings. She led off with a double in the 10th but ended up stranded and hit a one-out triple in the top of the 12th before getting caught in a run-down.
“It’s a great stepping stone for us,” Fowler said. “We’re young and everything and Sahuaro’s always been good in the past. We’re getting better to try and get up to there, it’s mostly that we get a break until Monday where we’re able to rest and do some things to get better.”
-James Kelley
Foothills beats Douglas to reach D-III quarterfinals
PHOENIX — Catalina Foothills sophomore pitcher Nic Conway and senior catcher Lilli Wright put together a game plan to seek revenge and quiet the Douglas bats.
It worked as Conway helped No. 7 Falcons cruise to a 8-1 victory over No. 10 Douglas on Thursday night, in the third round of the Division III state tournament.
“She had a good week of practice, she was feeling good and rested,” Foothills coach Mark Stevens said. “They had a game plan going in, they studied these hitters from our last matchup and they worked the plan to perfection. She was spotting the ball really well, she mixed it up and moved it around.”
Foothills returns to Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix on Friday to play second-seeded San Tan Valley Poston Butte in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal game.
Conway struck out the first eight batters she faced and finished with 14 punch outs, as she limited Douglas to three hits to help the Falcons win their fifth straight game.
“Before the game, all day at school I was thinking about softball,” Conway said. “I felt like we were just kind of rolling, the whole team had a lot of momentum going in and I think we used it to our advantage.”
Wright launched a moonshot over the centerfield fence for a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning. In the fourth, the Falcons mounted three consecutive singles to grab a 3-0 lead. After Wright walked to load the bases, junior Myranda Escobar hit a three-run double. Two batters later, senior Micayla Brooke laid a bunt down the first base line, which turned into an inside-the-park home run thanks to a throwing error.
“When we scored two runs, I said that's all we need,” Conway said. “Then we scored six more runs. That was only our third home run of the season, so our energy in the dugout went from a 10 to a 12 at that point.”
-Chuck Constantino
Defending champ Empire falls to No. 1 seed
PHOENIX — As quickly as Empire softball coach Shannon Woolridge watched his team build up a five-run lead, he saw that lead disappear.
Top-seeded Yuma Cibola knocked out the defending state champion Ravens with a 17-7 win on Thursday, in the third round of the Division III state tournament.
Empire led 7-2 heading into the bottom of the third inning when Cibola roughed up Empire sophomore pitcher Jaden Romero for eight runs on six hits, two walks and one error. From then on, the No. 16 Ravens (21-10) played flat, mustering just one hit for the remainder of the game.
“In the end, our defense imploded in the third inning,” Woolridge said. “The wind was taken out of our sails, that's not an excuse because we have to just fight through that. I wish I could have back that third inning.”
Empire sophomore Hannah Brink singled home the team's first run to start out a four-run second inning. Junior Jadyn Duncan followed with an RBI single to tie the game and then junior Buddy Vargas drove in two runs on a double to left, to give the Ravens a 4-2 lead.
“Every season is a different journey, that's what I've learned,” Woolridge said. “Going into the season we didn't know what to expect, but to continue to play hard and finish with 21 wins after the impact players we lost, I couldn't be more proud.”
-Chuck Constantino
POSTSEASON GLANCE
SOFTBALL
DIVISION II STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, double-elimination after second round. Winner-take-all championship game)
First-round results
No. 12 Cienega 7, No. 21 Mesa Skyline 3
No. 16 Desert View 3, No. 17 Flagstaff 0
No. 18 Sunnyside 9, No. 15 Buckeye Verrado 5
No. 19 Sierra Vista Buena 12, No. 14 Gilbert Mesquite 7
Second-round results
No. 1 Canyon del Oro 4, No. 16 Desert View 1
No. 2 Ironwood Ridge 11, No. 18 Sunnyside 1 (5 innings)
No. 3 Sahuaro 6, No. 19 Sierra Vista Buena 3
No. 6 Salpointe Catholic 10, No. 22 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows 0 (5 innings
No. 8 Tucson 17, No. 9 Goodyear Desert Edge 7 (5 innings)
No. 5 Phoenix Arcadia 5, No. 12 Cienega 3
Thursday’s third-round results (double elimination)
No. 8 Tucson 10, No. 1 Canyon del Oro 9
No. 2 Ironwood Ridge 10, No. 23 Casa Grande 0 (5 innings)
No. 3 Sahuaro 1, No. 6 Salpointe Catholic 0 (12 innings)
Loser bracket, first round (single elimination) – Saturday
No. 5 Phoenix Arcadia vs. No. 1 Canyon del Oro at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix
No. 23 Casa Grande vs. No. 6 Salpointe Catholic at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix
Winner quarterfinals (double elimination) – Tuesday
No. 3 Sahuaro vs. No. 2 Ironwood Ridge at TBD, 6:30 p.m.
No. 8 Tucson vs. No. 4 Glendale Cactus at Rose Mofford Sports Complex, 6:30 p.m.
DIVISION III STATE TOURNAMENT
(32 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 7 Catalina Foothills 5, No. 26 Lake Havasu 4
No. 10 Douglas 15, No. 23 Lee Williams 0
No. 16 Empire 13, No. 17 Glendale Apollo 2
No. 11 Phoenix Bourgade Catholic 3, No. 22 Sahuarita 1
No. 19 Rio Rico 9, No. 14 Avondale Agua Fria 1
No. 24 Nogales 6, No. 9 Goodyear Estrella Foothills 0
Thursday’s second-round results
No. 7 Catalina Foothills 8, No. 10 Douglas 1
No. 1 Yuma Cibola, No. 16 Empire 7
No. 19 Rio Rico 5, No. 3 Mohave Valley River Valley 1
No. 24 Nogales 19, No. 8 Show Low 2 (5 innings)
Quarterfinals – Friday at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix
No. 7 Catalina Foothills vs. No. 2 San Tan Valley Poston Butte, 7 p.m.
No. 24 Nogales vs. No. 1 Yuma Cibola, 7 p.m.
DIVISION IV STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 19 Pusch Ridge Christian 16, No. 14 Willcox 14
No. 20 Tanque Verde 13, No. 13 Globe 0
No. 24 Amphitheater 18, No. 9 Florence 1
Second-round results
No. 1 Benson 12, No. 16 Phoenix Country Day 0 (5 innings)
No. 3 San Manuel 9, No. 19 Pusch Ridge Christian 8
No 5 Pueblo 14, No. 21 Thatcher 4
No. 4 Yuma Catholic 13, No. 20 Tanque Verde 11
No. 24 Amphitheater 2, No. 8 Chandler Prep 0
Quarterfinals – Friday at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix
No. 24 Amphitheater vs. No. 1 Benson, 5 p.m.
No. 11 Morenci vs. No. 3 San Manuel, 5 p.m.
No. 4 Yuma Catholic vs. No. 5 Pueblo, 5 p.m.
DIVISION V STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 13 San Miguel 13, No. 20 Williams 0 (5 innings)
No. 12 Mayer 13, No. 21 Bisbee 12
No. 9 San Carlos 8, No. 24 Academy of Tucson 7
No. 11 St. David 14, No. 22 Mogollon 10
Second-round results
No. 4 Elfrida Valley Union 17, No. 13 San Miguel 6 (5 innings)
No. 6 Joseph City 16, No. 11 St. David 14
Quarterfinals – Friday at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix
No. 5 Winkelman Hayden vs. No. 4 Elfrida Valley Union, 5 p.m.
