Red Mountain softball and Hamilton baseball appear to be rounding into shape as the respective defending champions, and the rest of Arizona's state qualifiers prepare for final days of the regular season.
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.
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.
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.
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.