With a burgeoning school population that has been an impetus to a couple of state titles in other sports this year, it wouldn't be surprising to see Casteel come away with this year's 3A state title. The Colts are moving up to 5A next year when it will house four full classes for the first time.

 

The Colts breezed through their region unscathed and defeated several playoff contenders outside their region. Casteel's only loss to a 3A school was back in February to Florence. The Colts returned the favor a month later. Nothing is a certain in baseball and one off game can pop up at any time. Casteel enters the tournament having won 11 games in a row and 20 of its last 21. The lone loss in that span was to a 6A school. 

 

Here's a thumbnail sketch of the top 12 seeds as the tournament begins Friday May 4 with the first three rounds to be played at the Surprise Sports Complex:

 

#1 SABINO: The Sabercats have enjoyed a proud tradition that has waned a bit before the last two seasons. Once a power in 5A and 4A, this is the second year in a row they are in the playoffs. Sabino was a perfect 12-0 and won the South Region, which has four of the 16 teams in the the state tournament. Coach Mark Chandler, in his second year after coaching at Sahuaro for 13 years, puts his team's strength at pitching and defense. Junior shortsop-pitcher Preston Clifford sports a .392 average and is 7-0 with a 0.86 earned run average. Senior pitcher Tyler Wiltshire is right behind at 8-0 with a 1.26 ERA. The team's top hitter is junior third baseman Andres Villasenor (.406, 2 HR, 26 RBI).

 

#2 CASTEEL: The Colts are in their third year of existence and second with a varsity team. Coach Matt Perisho carries 11 juniors, eight sophomores and three freshmen and has started the program from the ground floor. Perisho has been impressed with the leadership of team captains Marcus Lucas and Conor Hatch. Dan Galvin is a player to watch and hitting .432 as is Lucas. Brody Wagner is having a break-out season hitting behiind Galvin with a .453 averaage. A steady player in the infield  is shortstop Eli Ludwig. The Colts have five pitchers with between three and five wins and have divvied up the innings among them nicely. NIne pitchers on the staff have worked between 10 and 34 innings. Casteel was one-and-done last year and Perisho is counting on a deeper showing with the experience that's in tow.   

#3 SAHUARITA: The Mustangs were runners-up in the South Region. They are led offensively by senior Saul Escarrega (.486 average, 31 RBI and 9 HR). Junior Jose Dicochea is a dual threat batting . 477 with 28 RBI and 15 extra-base hits. On the mound he is 6-0 with a 1.17 ERA. He misses bats with 63 Ks in 42 innings. Freshman Devin Alvarez has been a welcome addition batting .404 with 30 RBI. There's pitching depth with Chris Barraza (5-2, 0.84 ERA).

#4 FLORENCE: The Gophers are reeling a bit from an injury suffered almost two weeks ago by head coach JT Neal. Neal was struck in the face by a batted ball and has undergone surgery for the various fracures. Neal, who is in his fifth season at the school, says the Gophers formula for success revolves around pitching first, good defense and timely hitting. Pitcher-shortstop Mat Olsen has throw two no-hitters -- a seven-inning one and a five-inning run rule. Matan Utschen has slammed five homers and catcher Tyler Austin leads the conference with 26 walks. Walter Sommer has the top batting average at .486. Florence has six baseball titles in its history.

#5 NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN: The Crusaders are the defending conference champs and are attemping to defend with new coach and former major league pitcher Bob Howry. Howry, a standout in his prep playing days at Deer Valley, has lots to live up to with the school's recent postseason success -- two titles, a runner-up and quarterfinal finish the last four years. NWC finished runner-up in the West Region to Chino Valley. NWC is led by seniors Jarin Davis and Dylan Smith. Davis is the staff ace with a 1.22 ERA, 4-2 record and has recorded 70 Ks in 46 innings. Smith leads the team in most offensive categories, starting with an average of .412. Replacing a leadoff hitter and clean-up hitter were question marks to start, but have been filled admirably.

#6 HOLBROOK: The Roadrunners are a top-eight seed and East Region champ under first-year head coach Kendall Bakurza, who assisted for seven years prior.  Bakurza has a top-heavy roster of seniors (9) and juniors (2) who returned from last year. Seven of them were starters. Holbrook was the top seed last year and lost in the first round to Empire 
The team is hungry to atone and have tried a more focused approach offensively. Pitching and defense have remained solid. The Roadrunners are led by senior infielders Frankie Ulibarri  (.381, 6-1, 3.74 ERA) and Cole McDaniel (.418 avg.) and senior outfielder Ryan Short (.419 avg).

#7 CHINO VALLEY: The Cougars come to state with a West Region title to their credit and  pitching their forte. Coach Mark Middleton terms senior Tyler Hixon and junior Abdiel Sanchez as dual aces. Two players sport averages of .400 or better (Hixon .464) and (Sanchez .429). Five are hitting .300 or better. Chino lost seven seniors to graduation, but a nice mix of classes ( 7 seniors, 4 juniors, 3 sophomores and two freshmen) has led to another region title. Chino is looking to turn its postseason fortunes around of late. The Cougars have lost in the first round each of the last three years.

#9 SAFFORD: The Bulldogs reached the finals last year bowing to NWC. They finished runner-up to Florence in the Central Region. Pitching is strong as evidenced by junior Curtis Bevens play-in game win over Window Rock, 13-3. Bevens is 7-0 for the year with a 1.43 ERA. He's not a huge strikeout guy, but his numbers illustrate his effectiveness. Offensively the leaders are Austin Villalba (.453), Jerick Aribizo (.387), Patrick Ornelas (.385) and Mason Duros (.350). Villalba also pitches. 

 

#10 SHOW LOW: The Cougars tied with Holbrook and Payson for the East Region crown, but it went to Holbrook due to tie-breaking procedures. Show Low is a strong hitting team with five players who see regular time hitting .400 or better  - Cal Fawcett, Tanner Isaacs, Jake Reidhead, Zach Edwards and Grayson Pace. Defense has been a problem at times, but must be shored up in the tournament if the Cougars are to make a run. Isaacs and Deegan Letner are the top hurlers in terms of work and have ERAs in the low to to mid threes.

 

#11 PAYSON:The Longhorns are making their sixth consecutive playoff appearance under sixth-year head coach Brian Young despite losing eight seniors. They lost to Safford in the semifinals a year ago. Those seniors were mostly the starters from a year ago. This team is young, but has learned to be successful quickly. Top pitchers are Kevin Cerna and Koy Duran. The offense revolves around first baseman Dylan Justice and outfielder Jesse Conway. 

#12 EMPIRE: The Ravens may have finished fourth in the South Region, but the others ahead of them occupy the #1, #3 and #8 seeds. They have quality hitters in junior Braden Boisvert (.456 avg., 18 2B, 5 HR and 35 RBI), senior Luis Quintero (.409 avg., 6 HR, 30 RBI) and junior Matt Smith (.416 avg.). They'll need to hit as pitching isn't especially strong. Nine pitchers have win, but noone has more than three. Seniors Tanner Duffek and Drake Bannerman have logged the most innings  --  and have three wins apiece.