Bulldogs host Thunderbolts, Eagles welcome Mustangs on Monday

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: The 3A No. 31 Thatcher Eagles leave their “field of dreams” following the 3-run loss to No. 29 Safford on March 24. Thatcher hosts 4A No. 4 Sahuarita while Safford welcomes 4A No. 6 Tucson Mica Mountain on Monday, April 3.

Safford fourth, Thatcher eighth in South Region standings

By Raymundo Frasquillo

GRAHAM COUNTY – The Jordan Ornelas-coached No. 29 Safford Bulldogs take on the 4A No. 6 Tucson Mica Mountain Thunderbolts while the No. 31 Thatcher Eagles face the 4A No. 8 Sahuarita Mustangs on Monday, April 3. Earlier this season, Sahuarita blanked Safford 4-0 (March 8), Safford downed Thatcher 12-9 (March 24), and Mica Mountain defeated Safford 7-2 (March 27).

Also on Monday, 2A No. 10 Morenci visits No. 41 Tucson San Miguel Catholic, No. 10 Tucson Tanque Verde visits 4A No. 13 Rio Rico, and 2A No. 29 Tombstone visits No. 38 Tucson Palo Verde Magnet in non-region pairings.

This week (April 3-8) in other 3A South Region pairings, Safford visits No. 46, Tucson Catalina, No. 3 Tucson Empire visits No. 1 Tucson Sabino, Palo Verde Magnet visits No. 42 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian, Thatcher visits San Miguel on Tuesday, April 4; and Sabino visits Tucson Catalina on Thursday, April 6.

Non-region games include Empire at 2A No. 1 Willcox, No. 40 Gilbert Christian visits Pusch Ridge, 2A No. 22 Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic visits Palo Verde Magnet for a doubleheader on April 6; and

 Pusch Ridge visits Tombstone on April 8.

3A South Region Standings

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Faith Hanson (5) begins a delivery from the circle. The Safford junior reliever struck out two, walked no one, and allowed three hits while facing 14 batters during 2 2/3 innings.

The region standings at the start of the week have Sabino (18-1 overall, 8-1 seeding, 2-0 region) first, Empire (19-0, 9-0, 4-0) second, Tanque Verde (9-5, 6-3, 3-2) third, Safford (9-8, 2-5, 2-2) fourth, Palo Verde Magnet (3-6, 3-5, 1-1) fifth, and Pusch Ridge Christian (1-11, 1-9, 1-1) sixth, San Miguel Catholic (2-5, 2-5, 1-2) seventh, Thatcher (7-14, 3-7, 1-4) eighth, and Catalina (0-12, 0-8, 0-3) ninth.

Thus far, Sabino (2-0) has region wins of 10-2 over Tanque Verde (March 21) and 16-3 in six innings over Thatcher (March 27);

Empire (4-0) 3-1 over Tanque Verde (March 8), 19-0 in four innings over Palo Verde Magnet (March 27), 13-0 in five innings over Thatcher (March 29), and 11-1 in five innings over Safford (March 29);

Tanque Verde (3-2) 22-0 in five innings over San Miguel (March 24), 10-0 in five innings over Safford (March 27), and 17-0 in five innings over Thatcher (March 30);

Safford (2-2) 19-0 in four innings over San Miguel (March 21) and 12-9 over Thatcher (March 24); Palo Verde Magnet (1-1) 15-6 in six innings over Catalina (March 16);

Pusch Ridge Christian (1-1) 18-0 in five innings over Pusch Ridge (March 27); San Miguel Catholic (1-2) 29-16 in six innings over Catalina (March 30); and Thatcher (1-4) 14-2 in five innings over Pusch Ridge (March 21).

3A State Rankings

There are 46 3A teams, with 45 in six regions plus an independent. The Top 24 3A teams come from six regions, 5-7 (.714) from the North Region, 4-6 (.667) from the East Region, 4-7 (.571) from the North Central and West Regions, 4-9 (.444) from the South Central Region, and 3-9 (.333) from the South Region.

The Top 24 at the start of the week were South Region Sabino (8-1 seeding, 18.5323 rating) No. 1, West Region Yuma Catholic (7-0, 17.7175) No. 2, South Region Empire (9-0, 17.3710) No. 3, South Central Region Chandler Valley Christian (7-0, 12.9837) No. 4, North Region Page (8-0, 12.1928) No. 5, North Central Region Phoenix Northwest Christian (8-2, 11.7606) No. 6 North Central Region Phoenix Bourgade Catholic (6-2, 10.6608) No. 7, South Central Region Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (8-2, 10.2405) No. 8, North Region Chinle (5-2, 9.9686) No. 9, and South Region Tanque Verde (6-3, 9.4109) No. 10.

West Region Mohave Valley River Valley (7-2, 8.9950) was No. 11, East Region Holbrook (6-2, 6.6484) No. 12, West Region Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (5-1, 6.92176) No. 13, North Central Region Wickenburg (5-4, 4.6172) No. 14, North Central Region Chino Valley (6-3, 4.5698) No. 15, North Region Fort Defiance Window Rock (4-1, 3.6699) No. 16, East Region Payson (6-3, 3.4159) No. 17, South Central Region Gilbert Benjamin Franklin (5-4, 3.0520) No. 18, West Region Kingman (3-3, 2.6837) No. 19, and East Region Snowflake (4-5, 2.5274) No. 20.

North Region Kayenta Monument Valley (6-3, 2.4363) was No. 21, South Central Region Coolidge (6-2, 1.3501) No. 22, East Region Show Low (3-3, 0.2836) No. 23, and North Region Whiteriver Alchesay (4-5, 0.2767) No. 24.

The other six South Region teams were ranked No. 29 Safford (2-5, minus 1.6580), No. 31 Thatcher (3-7, minus 2.5044), No. 38 Palo Verde Magnet (3-5, minus 7.3147), No. 41 San Miguel Catholic (2-5, minus 10.2240), No. 42 Pusch Ridge Christian (1-9, minus 11.9201), and No. 46 Catalina (0-8, minus 18.9622).

4A Gila Region Standings

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Jordyn Romero (9) makes contact with the ball a double during her at-bat. The Thatcher senior batted .500 (2-4) against Safford.

The region standings at the start of the week have Mica Mountain (11-5 overall, 8-2 seeding, 3-0 region) first, Sahuarita (10-7, 6-4, 2-1) second, Rio Rico (5-5, 5-5, 1-1) third, Sahuarita Walden Grove (8-9, 5-5, 1-3) fourth, Palo Douglas (14-5, 7-4, 0-2) fifth.

Mica Mountain (3-0) has region wins of 6-5 over Rio Rico (March 21), 7-2 over Sahuarita (March 27), and 9-5 over Walden Grove (March 29);

Sahuarita (2-1) 10-5 over Walden Grove (March 21) and 14-1 over Douglas (March 22); Rio Rico (1-1) 11-3 over Walden Grove (March 22); and Walden Grove (1-3) 4-3 over Douglas (March 27).

Gila Region members were ranked No. 6 Mica Mountain (8-2 seeding, 10.5186 rating), No. 8 Sahuarita (6-4, 6.8109), No. 13 Rio Rico (5-5, 5.4545), No. 18 Sahuarita Walden Grove (5-5, 2.4655), and No. 23 Douglas (7-4, 0.5892).

Mica Mountain Thunderbolts (11-5, 8-2, 3-0)

The Thunderbolts have won eight of ten seeding games and three of six time-limited tourney games.

Mica Mountain has seeding wins of 14-4 in six innings over Thatcher (Feb. 28), 17-2 over Pusch Ridge (March 9), 8-5 over Tucson Desert View (March 13), 5-1 over Marana (March 14), 2-0 over Chandler Arizona College Prep (March 20), 6-5 over Rio Rico (March 21), 7-2 over Sahuarita (March 27), and 9-5 over Walden Grove (March 29). The losses were 1-4 to Sabino (March 3) and 1-5 to Tanque Verde (March 6).

The Thunderbolts recorded wins of 6-2 in five innings over Mesa Eastmark (Feb. 23), 13-0 in four innings over Texas El Paso Jefferson (Feb. 23), and 6-0 in six innings over Casa Grande (Feb. 24) during the 3-day Canyon del Oro tourney. The losses were 0-3 in six innings to host Canyon del Oro (Feb. 23), 0-9 to Tucson (Feb. 24), and 0-9 in five innings to Eastmark (Feb. 25).

Safford Bulldogs (9-8, 2-5, 2-2)

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Kiersten Taylor (6) attacks the ball with her glove. The Safford junior outfielder batted .750 (3-4) for the game.

The Bulldogs have won two of seven seeding games played to date. They have also gone 4-1 and 3-2 in 10 time-limited tourney games.

Safford has seeding wins of 19-0 during four innings over San Miguel (March 21) and 12-9 over Thatcher (March 24). The losses were 2-14 to Walden Grove (Feb. 28), 1-12 to Tucson Pueblo (March 3), 0-4 to Sahuarita (March 8), 0-10 in five innings to Tanque Verde (March 27), and 1-11 in five innings to Empire (March 30).

The Bulldogs posted wins of 9-2 over Tucson Cholla in three innings (March 10), 18-7 in four innings over Bisbee (March 10), 11-1 in four innings over Tombstone (March 10), and  20-2 in five innings over Tombstone (March 11) during the 2-day Douglas tourney. The loss was 1-7 in five innings to Willcox (March 11).

Safford defeated Bourgade Catholic 3-2 in five innings (March 17), 11-0 in four innings over Lakeside Blue Ridge (March 17), and 17-4 in three innings over Phoenix Saint Mary’s during the 2-day Payson tourney. The losses were 0-3 in six innings to Phoenix Sunnyslope (March 17) and 3-8 in four innings to Eloy Santa Cruz (March 18).

Sahuarita Mustangs (11-8, 6-4, 2-1)

The Mustangs have won six of ten seeding games and five of nine time-limited tourney games.

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: A trio of Eagles fans stand atop a pick-up truck bed to watch the game from the outfield.

Sahuarita has seeding wins of 15-1 in five innings over Pusch Ridge (March 1), 4-0 over Safford (March 8), 5-4 over Desert View (March 9), 10-5 over Walden Grove (March 21), 14-1 over Douglas (March 22), and 7-0 over Tanque Verde (March 29). The losses were 7-8 to Cienega (Feb. 22), 4-11 to Sabino (Feb. 27), 1-4 to Empire (Feb. 28), and 2-7 to Mica Mountain (March 27).

The Mustangs posted a win of 11-3 in four innings over Peoria Liberty (March 3) along with losses of 3-12 in five innings to Surprise Shadow Ridge (March 2), 8-12 in three innings to Tucson Catalina Foothills (March 3), and 0-6 in six innings to Catalina Foothills (March 4) during the 3-day Wickenburg tourney.

Sahuarita also notched wins of 9-2 in four innings over Winslow (March 17), 7-2 in five innings over Benson (March 17), 6-1 in five innings over Westwood (March 18), and 0-1 over Bourgade (March 18) during the 2-day Payson tourney. The loss was 3-7 to Sunnyslope (March 18)/

Thatcher Eagles (7-14, 3-7, 1-4)

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Ryann Lehman (3) receives a double-high five after reaching first base safely in the seventh inning. The Thatcher senior batted .333 (1-3) against Safford.

Thatcher has seeding wins of 14-2 in five innings over Pusch Ridge (March 21), 13-0 over Pima (March 22), and 14-4 in five innings over Blue Ridge (March 25). The losses are 4-14 to Mica Mountain (Feb. 28), 0-10 in five innings to Douglas (March 3), 0-10 in five innings to Willcox (March 8), 9-12 to Safford (March 24), 3-16 in six innings to Sabino (March 27), 0-13 in five innings to Empire, and 0-17 in five innings to Tanque Verde (March 30).

The Eagles went 2-3 and 2-4 in abbreviated games during the 3-day Mesa Dobson tourney and the 2-day Payson tourney, respectively.

Thatcher defeated Tempe McClintock 5-4 in five innings (Feb. 23) and Mesa Skyline 10-4 in five innings (Feb. 25) at Mesa. The losses were 0-11 in three innings to Mesa (Feb. 23), 0-19 in three innings to Tucson Sunnyside (Feb. 24), and 6-13 in five innings to Scottsdale Arcadia (Feb. 24).

The wins in Payson were 6-5 over Saint Mary’s (March 18) and 7-5 in six innings over Mesa Westwood (March 18), The losses were 8-9 in four innings to Payson (March 17), 8-12 to Queen Creek Crimson (Match 17), o-2 to Dobson (March 17), and 5-10 to Santa Cruz (March 18).

Safford – 12, Thatcher – 9

Safford went three up and three down to start the game while Thatcher crossed the plate twice during its initial plate appearance. A 2-out single by sophomore Sophia Estrada drove in two runs.

The Bulldogs countered by sending nine batters up in the second and scoring five times to take a 5-2 lead. Safford added six runs in the fifth with 10 batters and one in the sixth with five batters.

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Melana Gonzalez (9) awaits the arrival of a pitch. The Safford freshman was credited with a sacrifice during her plate appearance.

Thatcher sent 11 batters up in the fifth and reaped seven runs. However, a 2-out single in the sixth followed by a ground out produced no runs. And, a pair of 2-out singles in the seventh was followed by a strikeout.

Safford batted.429 (15-35) and left four runners on compared to .353 (12-34) and seven stranded runners by Thatcher.

For the Eagles, senior Jordyn Romero (2-4, double), juniors Ava Allen (2-4) and Macey Carter (2-4, 2 RBIs), and Estrada (1-2, 2 RBIs) each batted .500, senior Matti Lopeman .400 (2-5, double, 2 RBIs), senior Ryann Lehman .333 (1-3), and both senior Jocelyn Lunt (home run, 2 RBIs) and freshman Shaylee Hughes .250 (1-4).

Safford freshman Kiersten Taylor batted 7.50 (3-4, RBI), seniors Paige Perea (double) and Emma Workman (double, RBI) along with freshman Kai-Lee Cordova (RBI) each .667 (2-3), sophomore Marley Jurado .500 (2-4, double, home run, 6 RBIs), senior Jaylenn Jurado .400 (2-5, RBI), senior Brianna Camarena .250 (1-4, double), and freshman Trynity Dominguez .200 (1-5, RBI).

In the circle, Workman struck out three, walked two, and allowed eight hits while facing 23 batters during m4 1/3 innings. Junior reliever Faith Hanson struck out two, walked three, and yielded three hits while facing 14 batters during 2 2/3 innings.