The best hitting and best pitching in the tournament. Red Mountain proved it had both again Monday night and that's why the Lady Lions are Division I state softball champs for the fourth year in a row.

Jordan Beck's two-run homer in the first got things rolling and another strong performance from Bre Macha save one inning guided No. 6 Red Mountain to a 9-5 victory over No. 14 Chaparral at ASU's Farrington Softball Stadium.

Red Mountain's other titles in the streak came against St. Mary's (2010), and Basha (2011 and 2012). Red Mountain coach Rich Hamilton became the first big-school (5A/D-I) softball coach in state history to guide a school to four straight championships. Chaparral (28-12), which suffered its only two losses in the tournament to Red Mountain, was looking for its sixth state title in softball in its first title-game appearance since 2007.

"You'll hate me for saying this, but the championships are a testament to their hard work and doing what we ask them to do," Hamilton said. "This team had a rough time in the beginning (season). A lot of individual stuff. But they came together."

Red Mountain (33-5) never trailed and built a 9-1 lead through five innings before Chaparral got to Macha with four runs in the sixth to  tighten things. It really was, however, Red Mountain's game from the start with Beck ripping a two-out homer to right-center in the bottom of the first.

"The pitch I hit was middle away," Beck said of her second homer in the tournament off Chaparral ace Dallas McBride. "It was nice to score first. If you score first it gives you more confidence. Winning a third time feels good. I've got three rings and my sister (Taylor in 2009) has one. It would be neat to get a fifth one next year."

It was Macha's two-out single that preceded Beck's home run. Macha took that 2-0 lead and ran with it. She held Chaparral hitless for the first three innings and allowed only one run on three hits through five innings. It marked the third year in a row the junior right-hander was the winning pitcher in the title game. Heading into Monday's title game, Macha was 4-0 in the tournament with a 0.69 earned-run average over 26 innings. The ERA rose some with Chaparral's sixth-inning rally, but it was good enough to take home another title. Macha rebounded in the seventh to strike out the side.

"There's always some comfort when you have the lead early," Macha said. "It's a great feeling winning it again. This was not given to us. We had to work for it."

Red Mountain's pitching foe Monday was McBride, who mowed down four opponents since losing to Red Mountain on May 1 to get the Lady Firebirds to the title game. McBride had a tough time against Red Mountain in two prior meetings and Monday's matchup was no exception. McBride had an ERA of just more than 6 the first two times facing the Lady Lions. On Monday she allowed all nine runs, seven earned and 11 hits. She and the Lady Firebirds beat Cienega (12-3), Mountain Ridge (2-0), Horizon (6-1) and Mesa Mountain View (9-3) to get a second chance at Red Mountain.

Marian Ruf led Red Mountain with three hits and drove in three runs, two to highlight a four-run, third inning. Ashley Hill, McKenzy Gutierrez and Savannah Kirkpatrick had an RBI each. Kirkpatrick homered in the fifth.

"We just fell behind the eight-ball," Chaparral coach Stefanie Ewing said of 6-0 and 9-1 deficits. "We got our bats going too late. Bre pitched a great game, and they took advantage."

Lauren LaTerra and Alexa Thorell had two hits each for Chaparral. LaTerra drove in two runs.