Cienega High softball team does it again, capturing third state title in four years

TEMPE — Cienega head coach Eric Tatham added a fourth ring to his collection Monday night after the third-seeded Bobcats held off No. 8 Ironwood Ridge 8-2 in the Class 5A softball all-Tucson state championship game at ASU’s Farrington Stadium.

The Bobcats captured their third state title in four years, and all three were played at ASU including last year. But this one is sweeter than the last for Cienega.

“Nothing is better than back-to-back,” Cienega sophomore shortstop and Ole Miss commit Blaise Biringer said.

Monday’s state championship game was a rubber match between the two programs, which met twice in the regular season, with Cienega winning the last one. Since then, the red-hot Nighthawks lost only one of their last seven games.

Sophomore pitcher Mariah Lopez started her second title game as Cienega’s ace and set the tone for the Bobcats early, striking out two batters in the first inning.

After that, Cienega’s bats and speed took care of the rest.

In the bottom of the first, Biringer hit a lead-off double off Ironwood Ridge’s Frankie Lucio, which was followed by a Kaitlyn Anderson bunt that sent Biringer to third.

A Peyton McLaughlin sacrifice fly gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead after the first.

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“Blaise has been hot at the top of the order all season long and when you have a leadoff batter that you can lean on to get things starter, it’s a great feeling and she’s been doing it every game,” Tatham said.

Despite finding her groove in the first, Lopez walked a batter and gave up a hit in the second and put the Nighthawks in position to score, a common theme throughout.

The Nighthawks battled Lopez all night despite only having six hits. However, they stranded 11 runners.

Cienega scored most of its runs in the third. Biringer led off with a triple, and senior right fielder and Utah Valley signee Abby Doughty hit a RBI double to extend the lead 2-0. The Bobcats hauled in three more to end the third up 5-0.

Nighthawks made it interesting after first baseman Diana Nisbett hit a two-run shot over the right-field fence to make the score 5-2. That’s as close as Ironwood Ridge got, because the Bobcats tacked on three more runs in the sixth.

How does this team compare to other Cienega title teams in the past?

“They’re Bobcats. It’s about Bobcats and not about which team is better than the other, it’s about continuing the tradition,” Tatham said.