Sabino’s dream softball season is one win away from reality.
The top-seeded Sabercats will take on No. 2 Winslow in Friday’s Class 3A state championship game in Tempe. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Farrington Softball Stadium.
Sabino has been on a tear throughout the 3A state tournament, outscoring its first three opponents by a combined score of 36-7. The only team to score on the Sabercats this postseason has been Empire, which put up seven runs in Saturday’s game at Rose Mofford Softball Complex. (Sabino still won by nine runs).
Winslow, meanwhile, has been more battled-tested; two of the team’s three victories in the playoffs have come by a single run.
Sabino is led offensively by junior Jesamin Aguilar, who’s hitting a team-high .581 with an on-base percentage of .613. Her 72 hits are by far the most on the team; nobody else has more than 53. Gianna Pancost leads the Sabercats with eight home runs and 51 RBIs. Her 1.020 slugging percentage makes her the team’s biggest power threat.
On the mound, Sabino is again led by ace Riley Nielson, who carries an 18-2 record and 1.52 ERA into Friday’s final. The senior has 17 complete games and seven shutouts with 189 strikeouts and just 30 walks. Just two of the 522 batters she’s faced this season have hit home runs. She’ll have her hands full on Friday: Winslow is led by junior Brynlee Barris, who’s hitting an even .500 with a team-high eight home runs and 51 RBIs. Fellow junior Mikell Branson has a team-high six triple and eight stolen bases. Senior Mykenzie Flores leads the team with 62 hits.
Sabino is aiming for its third consecutive state title; the program beat Snowflake 14-2 in 2019, and edged Payson 4-1 last season. (The 2020 playoffs were not held because of the pandemic.)
Friday’s 3A state final marks the start of a flurry of championship games held over the next few days. The Class 6A, 5A and 4A softball finals will be played Saturday at Farrington Stadium.
The state baseball finals start Monday, when No. 4 Canyon del Oro takes on No. 3 Salpointe Catholic in the 4A championship at Hi Corbett Field at 7:30 p.m. The Class 6A, 5A and 3A finals will take place Tuesday. The state boys volleyball championships are scheduled for Saturday. Two Southern Arizona teams — Cienega (5A) and Salpointe (4A) — were playing state semifinal matches on Thursday when the Star went to print.
Photographs of Tucson/Southern Arizona teams in select games of the 2022 Arizona state championships, covered by the Arizona Daily Star.
