By Raymundo Frasquillo
SAINT DAVID – The Ron Goodman-coached Saint David Tigers (4-7-1 overall, 4-4 seeding, 3-0 region) host the Duncan Wildkats (9-3, 9-3, 4-0) on Thursday, April 9. The Crawford Field pairing will have a 3:45 p.m. start. The Tigers were ranked No. 10 (0.9465 rating) and the Wildkats No. 11 (0.0196) on April 8.
The field is named for the late James Crawford, who guided the Tigers to 15 state championships from 1965-93 and 2000-02.
Saint David is 269-184-2 with three finalists’ appearances during 19 seasons (2008-26) under Ron Goodman, while Duncan is 158-212 in the same span. The Wildkats are 59-74 under eighth year (2019-26) Brett Jensen.
Duncan is batting .451 (152-337) with 100 of 147 runs driven in through 12 games, while Saint David is batting .247 (71-288) with 59 of 76 runs driven in through 12 games.
This week (April 6-11):
This week in the 1A South Region, Saint David hosts Duncan on April 9; Patagonia visits 1A East Region San Manuel on April 10; Baboquivari visits 1A Independent San Simon for a double-header on April 11; and both Valley Union and Fort Thomas will be participating in the 3-day Phoenix Horizons Honors tourney on April 9-11.
It was 1A East Region Kearny Ray 24-2 over Patagonia and Baboquivari 6-4 over Valley Union on April 8.
No. 10 Saint David Tigers (4-4 seeding, 0.9465 rating)
Saint David (4-7-1 overall, 4-4 seeding, 3-0 region) is averaging a 6-7 (76-78) score per game or a 1-run deficit through 12 games.
The Ron Goodman-coached Tigers have seeding wins over Saint Augustine (7-4, March 12), Baboquivari (17-2 in 5 inn, March 11), Fort Thomas (12-7, March 25), Patagonia (12-8, April 6) along with losses to Tombstone (0-1, March 10), Bisbee (1-6, March 19), Heber Mogollon (4-8, March 27), and Bagdad (4-11, March 27).
Additionally, the Wildcats went 0-3-1 during the 2-day Bisbee tourney. The losses were to Willcox (1-5 in 5 inn, March 13), Ray (2-8 in 5 inn, March 14), and Bisbee (6-8 in 4 inn, March 14) as well as a tie with Valley Union (10-10 in 4 inn, March 13).
A 15-member roster has five seniors, four juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen. The seniors are Jaxson Brogan (17), Cedar Haynie (19), Adrian Nuernberger (4), Chase Pacheco (5), and Cayden Richins (2); juniors Atticus DeMil (25), Emmitt Etter (6), Luke Gorman (23), and Connor Posey (7); sophomores Grant Haymore (1), Xavier Martinez (10), and Clark Wilson (11); and freshmen Drake Fry (12), Canon Haynie (3), and Conagher Reynolds (16).
Saint David is competing in the 6-member 1A South Region with the Duncan Wildkats, Elfrida Valley Union Blue Devils, the Fort Thomas Apaches, the Patagonia Lobos, and the Sells Baboquivari Warriors.
No. 11 Duncan Wildkats (9-3 seeding, 0.0196 rating)
Duncan (9-3 overall, 9-3 seeding, 4-0 region) is averaging a 12-9 (146-102) score per game or a 3-run margin through 12 games.
The Brett Jensen-coached Wildkats have seeding wins over Baboquivari (15-12, Feb. 25), San Carlos (28-11 in 3 inn, March 4), San Carlos (25-7 in 5 inn, March 4), San Simon (13-7, March 5), Fort Thomas (9-5, March 12), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (12-2 in 5 inn, March 24), Patagonia (13-4, March 27), Valley Union (15-5 in 6 inn, April 1), and New Mexico Lordsburg (10-6, April 7) along with losses to Superior (0-9, March 9), Miami (1-13 in 6 inn, April 2), and Willcox (5-20 in 5 inn, April 6).
An 11-member roster has five seniors, three juniors, and three sophomores. The seniors are Ethan Hernandez (22), Jayden Hoben (25), Taygan Jensen (1), Guy Reidhead (11), and Pablo Ruiz (9); juniors Karsen Lacey (10), Joe Nandino (27), and Dayton Penry (14); and sophomores Mark Bejarano (17), Gus Pope (35), and Aaron Zamora (5).
Duncan is competing in the 6-member 1A South Region with the Elfrida Valley Union Blue Devils, the Fort Thomas Apaches, the Patagonia Lobos, the Saint David Tigers, and the Sells Baboquivari Warriors.
South Region Standings
The South Region standings on April 8 had Saint David (4-7-1 overall, 4-4 seeding, 3-0 region), Duncan (9-3, 9-3, 4-0), Patagonia Union (5-6, 5-6, 3-2), Sells Baboquivari (3-5, 3-5, 2-4), Fort Thomas (3-4, 3-4, 1-4) and Elfrida Valley Union (4-7-1, 2-5, 1-4).
The remaining home region games include: Saint David hosting Fort Thomas (April 14), Baboquivari (April 20), Valley Union (April 22), and Patagonia (April 24); Duncan hosting Saint David (April 27); Patagonia hosting Duncan (April 22); Valley Union hosting Patagonia (April 13), Duncan (April 14), and Saint David (April 16); Baboquivari hosting Duncan (April 24); and Fort Thomas hosting Duncan (April 16), Baboquivari (April 21), Valley Union (April 23), and Patagonia (April 27).
1A State Rankings
The statewide rankings for the Top 16 of 25 1A teams as of noon on April 8 were Winkelman Hayden (8-1 seeding, 9.2702 rating) No. 1, Heber Mogollon (6-1, 9.1312) No. 2, Colorado City El Capitan (7-0, 8.7607) No. 3, San Manuel (7-3, 6.9907) No. 4, Williams (8-3, 6.4139) No. 5, Glendale Desert Heights Prep (7-1, 3.9487) No. 6, Bagdad (6-3, 3.3329) No. 7, and Kearny Ray (6-3, 2.8164) No. 8.
Phoenix Great Hearts Anthem (6-2, 1.2295) was No. 9, Saint David (4-4, 0.9465) No. 10, Duncan (9-3, 0.0196) No. 11, Ash Fork/Seligman (3-3, minus 0.5722) No. 12, Superior (2-5, minus 0.6075) No. 13, Patagonia (5-5, minus 2.0626) No. 14, Elfrida Valley Union (2-4, minus 5.9772) No. 15, and Joseph City (5-6, minus 6.1030) No. 16.
The initial statewide rankings for the Top 16 1A teams as of noon on March 31 had Mogollon (5-0 seeding, 11.8131 rating) No. 1, El Capitan (6-0, 10.1638) No. 2, Desert Heights Prep (6-0, 6.9367) No. 3, Hayden (5-1, 6.6217) No. 4, San Manuel (6-2, 5.4767) No. 5, Bagdad (5-2, 4.1424) No. 6, Williams (5-3, 2.9197) No. 7, and Ray (5-2, 2.8673) No. 8.
Duncan (7-1, 2.5888) was No. 9, Ash Fork/Seligman (3-2, 2.0750) No. 10, Great Hearts Anthem (4-2, 1.0123) No. 11, Saint David (3-4, 0.4116) No. 12, Joseph City (5-2, minus 0.1671) No. 13, Superior (2-5, minus 0.6212) No. 14, Patagonia (5-5, minus 0.9360) No. 15, and Valley Union (2-2, minus 1.8973) No. 16.
