Salpointe improved to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in division play after taking care of Sabino 10-0 in five innings on Thursday. The loss dropped the Sabercats to 1-1 in division games.
Pusch Ridge defeated American Leadership Academy 12-2 Wednesday night to remain perfect on the year. The Lions (7-0) have outscored opponents 92-13 including an incredible 50-2 scoring differential to go 4-0 at the PCDS Softball Desert Classic last week.
As noted by our own Les Willsey, the AIA's Legislative Council adopted pitch-count limits for baseball last Friday, March 4. The new rules for pitching and resting will go into effect February of 2017. The limits are based on guidelines followed by USA Baseball.
The 9th Annual AMSA Transportation Lancer Baseball Classic schedule has been set for next week. Salpointe will host 22 teams including schools from Colorado, California and Oklahoma. Flagstaff and Cesar Chavez will be joining the rest of the teams from Southern Arizona.
Salpointe went undefeated to capture the championship of the TUSD Boy's Volleyball Invitational held Friday and Saturday at Pueblo High School. The Lancers finished 6-0 at the invite, defeating Tucson 2-1 (26-27, 25-20, 15-13) in the final.
Pool play at the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Boy's Volleyball Invitational was held on Friday at Pueblo High School. Sahuaro, Salpointe, Rincon/University and Canyon del Oro earned top seeds for bracket play.
Pool Play got underway Wednesday at the Amphi Panther Invitational. In all, 16 teams will play at five different high schools in Southern Arizona including Walden Grove, Santa Rita, Palo Verde, Catalina and Amphitheater with the championship game scheduled for Saturday at Amphitheater.
The Catalina Foothills boy's tennis team has won 10 state team titles dating back to 1997. It's an incredible run that includes a trip to the final every year since 2005 except for 2012 and 2013. Even then, the Falcons picked things back up and won the last two Division II team championships.
Canyon del Oro defeated Ironwood Ridge 7-4 Saturday afternoon to capture the 14th edition of the Dorado Classic. The field included 20 teams including reigning Division I state champion Sandra Day O'Connor.
Canyon del Oro run-ruled Basha 11-1 to open up play at the Dorado Softball Classic held in Marana. The Dorados produced 13 hits including three doubles and a triple in the win over the Bears.
It's been a generation since Pueblo won 19 regular season games and a lifetime since the Warrior magic was so real one could almost touch it. Such was the case Tuesday night when No. 11 Pueblo defeated No. 22 Flowing Wells 62-48 in the first round of the Division III state playoffs.
A deflection and open net in the 45th minute is all that separated Notre Dame and Salpointe Saturday. Notre Dame forward Lindsay Shipley provided much of the pressure for the Saints in a game where controlling the pace and the ball does not always equal victory. Still, Shipley seemed to always be where the action was, so much so that when fellow sophomore Hannah Osland scored the winning goal, Shipley's name was announced to the crowd.
No. 15 Pueblo and No. 17 Cholla came into the Division III, Section III tournament knowing an at-large state-playoff bid was practically in the bag. The only question would be what team they would play and where and that depended on how the sectional tournament played out.
Tucson extended its season by defeating Salpointe 69-54 in the first game and Catalina Foothills held on to defeat Mountain View 52-42 in the other semifinal.
Sectional tournaments are being played all over the state in preparation for the state playoffs, set to start next Tuesday, Feb. 16. This is what February Frenzy is all about.
Nastia Loughran may only be a sophomore, but the Tanque Verde forward had the ability to focus her emotions like a true veteran Tuesday night while scoring twice to defeat Pusch Ridge 2-0 in a Division IV semifinal.
Division V, Section II at Cienega
First Round: Monday, Feb. 8
No. 4 Bowie/San Simon 33, No. 5 Valley Union 31
No. 6 Tombstone 50, No. 3 The Gregory School 41
Semifinals: Thursday, Feb. 11
No. 4 Bowie/San Simon vs. No. 1 St. David, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Tombstone vs. No. 2 Patagonia, 5:15 p.m.
Cibola won the Division II title last year but the Raiders are wrestling in D-I this winter. Look for Liberty and Mountain View to move up and challenge for the title this year. Kofa finished in 41st place last year but the Kings won the Section I title this year by a wide margin over Desert Edge.
No. 4 Ironwood Ridge defeated No. 5 Arcadia 1-0 Saturday to advance to the semifinal round of the Division II soccer playoffs. The Nighthawks (18-3-2) scored on an own goal in the 23rd minute and held on for the win despite a frantic comeback attempt by the Titans (15-4) down the stretch including a shot with a few seconds left.