No.1 Salpointe clinched the 4A Kino Region after the Lancers beat No. 2 Mica Mountain 2-0 in nine innings Thursday night at home. Salpointe beat Mica Mountain 9-0 Tuesday night on the road and the Bolts needed to even the series Thursday night to have a shot at the region title. The Lancers have completed region play but the program still has two games left beginning with a visit to 5A No. 7 Canyon del Oro on Monday.

The Thunderbolts still have three games left in region play with a trip to No. 39 Sahuaro on Monday. The conference play-in tournaments are slated for Wednesday, April 29 but Salpointe and Mica Mountain are most likely qualifying for the state tournament that begins on May 2 as high seeds.

In the game Thursday night, junior Isa Palomarez hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth to score Kenzi Daley and herself for the 2-0 final. Macee Jackson (9-2) ended the night with 16 strikeouts while giving up four hits. Two of those hits went to Mica Mountain pitcher Ace Heston who also picked up a double and was stranded at third in the second inning.

Heston (16-4) collected 10 strikeouts in the loss and she scattered five hits to keep her team in the game. The senior passed the 600 career strikeout mark and Jackson has over 400.

Ace Heston. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

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