BASEBALL PLAYOFFS: Catalina Foothills fighting for a first-round bye

Tucson Catalina Foothills has been a consistent presence in postseason play. Except for the 2012 season where the Falcons dropped eight of their last nine games to fall out of contention, one would be hard pressed to point to a "bad" season over the last decade or so.

Cross Country / Baseball / Softball Andy Morales April 24, 2015

SOFTBALL: Tanque Verde gets past Desert Christian 16-8

Payson is the top-ranked team in Division III and Tanque Verde is ranked second. The Hawks know a rematch in the state playoffs is possible if they can remain unbeaten and they took another step with a 16-8 victory over D-IV power Tucson Desert Christian on Thursday.

Softball Andy Morales April 23, 2015

Softball: Sahuaro earns section championship but keeps eye on bigger prize

Ranked third in Division II softball, Tucson Sahuaro will gladly accept the Section II title they earned by beating Sierra Vista Buena 9-0 on Wednesday but the Cougars have much loftier goals. Once the most powerful softball program in the state, Sahuaro has not won a state championship since 2001.

Softball Andy Morales April 22, 2015

D-IV Baseball: Pima gets past St. Augustine in extra innings

Tucson St. Augustine (9-5 in power-rankings games and 5-2 in section) and Pima (9-6, 3-3) are part of a group of teams fighting for an at-large invitation to the Division IV state playoffs.

Baseball Andy Morales April 20, 2015

We can learn a lot from Amphitheater's Marie Nzeyimana

We can learn a lot from Amphitheater's Marie Nzeyimana

Cross Country / Tennis Andy Morales April 17, 2015

Girls Tennis: Catalina Foothills & Ironwood Ridge ready for playoffs

Tucson Catalina Foothills wrapped up another perfect regular season Thursday night with a 7-1 win at rival Division II power Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge. At 14-0 overall and 8-0 in Section V, the Falcons have only given up 10 points all year but only three since March 9.

Tennis Andy Morales April 16, 2015

SOFTBALL: CDO beats Ironwood Ridge but Southern Arizona section races still cloudy

Based only on games that matter, Tucson Salpointe is the top-ranked D-II team with an 11-1 record in power-rankings games and a 7-0 record in Section VI battles. The Lancers can clinch a section title if the beat Tucson Catalina Foothills (3-8, 2-2) next Monday or if Ironwood Ridge (11-3, 4-2) and Canyon del Oro (9-3, 5-2) both lose before that.

Softball Andy Morales April 14, 2015

Girls Tennis: Desert Christian fighting for an at-large bid

The state playoffs for individual and doubles are scheduled to start next Friday, Apr. 24 while the team portion is set for the following Wednesday, Apr. 29. 16 teams will qualify from each of the three divisions with the top two teams from each section earning an automatic berth.

Tennis Andy Morales April 13, 2015

Baseball: Spotlight on Division II section races

Baseball: Spotlight on Division II section races

Baseball Andy Morales April 11, 2015

Boys Volleyball: Ironwood Ridge defeats Canyon del Oro to remain undefeated in section

Boys Volleyball: Ironwood Ridge defeats Canyon del Oro to remain undefeated with the grandfather of boy;s volleyball in the stands.

Girls Volleyball / Boys Volleyball Andy Morales April 9, 2015

Boys Volleyball: Cole Kowalski gets to finish his high school career at Catalina

Cole Kowalski arrived on the Tucson Catalina campus one year after the Trojans won their second straight Division II boy's volleyball state championship. It was the spring of 2012 and the freshman setter and found himself on a team without all-state players Ryan Graham, Josh DeYoung, Lorenzo Gonzales, Ethan Mangosing and his brother Cooper Kowalski.

Boys Volleyball Andy Morales April 7, 2015

Track & Field: Arizona athletes with Top 3 national times

Here is the list of athletes from Arizona who have a time that qualifies for a top-three spot nationally.

Track & Field Andy Morales April 4, 2015

Baseball: Amphitheater's Devon Pilgrim leads off spring signing period

Baseball: Amphitheater's Devon Pilgrim leads off the spring signing period

Football / Baseball Andy Morales April 3, 2015

SOFTBALL: Plenty of new faces as Pusch Ridge defeats St. David 19-4

Oro Valley Pusch Ridge defeated St. David 19-4 Wednesday night in a five-inning game featuring two Southern Arizona Division IV powers. As the score might indicate, most of the runs were unearned.

Girls Volleyball / Softball Andy Morales April 1, 2015

Baseball: Ironwood Ridge coach Dennis Toia earns 100th victory

Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge baseball coach Dennis Toia earned his 100th career victory Monday night with a 9-2 win over Tucson Pueblo at home.

Baseball Andy Morales March 30, 2015

Softball: Ironwood Ridge gets past Red Mountain 10-0, rankings coming soon

Softball: Ironwood Ridge gets past Red Mountain 10-0, rankings coming soon

Softball Andy Morales March 28, 2015

Baseball: Bishop Gorman defeats Tucson 5-1 to win Chris Moon Classic

Bishop Gorman defeated Tucson 5-1.

Baseball Andy Morales March 28, 2015

Bishop Gorman to play Tucson for Chris Moon Memorial championship

Chris Moon was the consensus 2007 Southern Arizona baseball player of the year. The Tucson High pitcher/outfielder got the attention of the Atlanta Braves and was drafted in the 35th round. Moon chose to play for the University of Arizona instead and signed up with Andy Lopez that fall. It was that class of commitments that eventually won the NCAA championship for the Wildcats in 2012 but Moon would not be one of them.

Baseball Andy Morales March 26, 2015

BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Initial rankings coming next week

The Rangers visited Section III favorite Tucson (4-1, 0-1) on Tuesday night in an important divisional match with early ranking implications with Tucson coming out on top 3-1 ( 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20).

Boys Volleyball Andy Morales March 24, 2015

Legendary St. David coach Jim Crawford passes away at the age of 85

Legendary St. David coach Jim Crawford passes away at the age of 85

Football / Baseball Andy Morales March 23, 2015

Track & Field: 13 events decided at the Willie Williams Classic

Session two of the Willie Williams Track & Field Classic is in the books and 13 high school events were decided along with the prelims of several running and relay events. A few college events were also decided at the University of Arizona Drachman Stadium because the meet is composed of both high school and collegiate competition.

Cross Country / Track & Field Andy Morales March 20, 2015

Baseball: Seven teams still undefeated at Lancer Baseball Classic

The 8th Annual Salpointe Lancer Baseball Classic is taking place this week at the Reid Park Complex in midtown Tucson. Besides teams from all over Arizona, squads from Oklahoma, Texas and California are also taking part.

Baseball Andy Morales March 17, 2015

Sand volleyball: Chaparral over Salpointe in first-ever meeting

Sand volleyball: Chaparral over Salpointe in first-ever meeting

Beach Volleyball Andy Morales March 16, 2015

Volleyball: Gilbert defeats Perry to win Foothills Invite in Tucson

Gilbert Perry defeated Gilbert at the Chandler Wolf Howl Tourney a week ago and Gilbert returned the favor Saturday to win the championship of the Tucson Catalina Foothills Invite.

Cross Country / Boys Volleyball Andy Morales March 15, 2015

Softball: Emerald Grijalva picks up 15th win for Nogales

After a generation of frustration, it appears the Nogales softball program is on the verge of breaking through. The Apaches recorded 20 wins in 2013 and finished with 25 last year after making it to the second round of the Division III state playoffs for the first time in school history.

Cross Country / Softball Andy Morales March 15, 2015