Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: A swing of sophomore Candace Forgach-Aguilar’s bat decided the quarterfinal game’s outcome May 4. The No. 9 batter slapped in the tying and go-ahead runs to vault the Wildcats into the semifinals against top-ranked Benson on May 10. The state pairing with No. 5 San Manuel ended 2-1 in favor of No. 4 Morenci. San Manuel topped the Wildcats 3-1 March 1 and ended No. 3 Morenci’s 2017 season with a 2-1 quarterfinal 11 innings loss as a No. 6 seed. Benson has two region wins over the Wildcats and ended No. 4 Morenci’s 2018 season with a 2-1 semifinal loss as the No. 1 seed.
By Raymundo Frasquillo
PHOENIX – Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning against No. 5 San Manuel, third-year Morenci head softball Coach Joseph Garcia told the Wildcats, “the pressure is on them, let them make the mistakes.”
The bottom three in the line-up were up with one out for the No. 4 Wildcats. At that point in the post-season, the players in the three slots were a combined 3-13, 1-5 for No. 7, 2-4 for No. 8, and 0-4 for No. 9. Freshman Devanie Medina bunted on safely and sophomore Lindsey Hunter reached first on an infielder error.
Designated player, sophomore Candace Forgach-Aguilar stepped to the plate. A swing of the bat by the No. 9 batter decided the outcome. With runners poised on second and third, Aguilar slapped a 2-2 pitch in play and drove in both the tying and go-ahead runs. Before the Miners could compose themselves, the game was over.
Following the exchange of handshakes and returning to the team huddle, Garcia asked the Wildcats, “Can you believe that (expletive deleted) ?” of the quarterfinal game’s outcome.
Aguilar, engulfed in tears of joy, was showered with a 20-ounce bottle of lukewarm water by her father Ricardo. Her mother and paternal grandparents beamed with pride as they too were on hand to witness the young girl’s success.
Several other Wildcats also contributed to the outcome, making defensive plays when called upon and just doing what they needed to, having been trained to do so all season long.
“It took all of us,” senior Jaim’ee Rodriguez said. ”There were others that stepped up when some of us weren’t on our A-game. And, we’re not done yet.”
Morenci batted .292 (7-24), fielded .875 (28-32), and left six runners on compared to.174 (.5-29), .964 (27-28), and seven stranded runners by San Manuel.
Junior Brigid Silvester batted .667 (2-3), and senior Dominique Garcia, senior Destiny Chavarria, Medina, Lindsey, and Aguilar (2 RBIs) .333 (1-3) apiece.
In the circle, Rodriguez struck out eight and yielded five hits while facing 29 batters during seven innings.
For San Manuel, Taya Dockum batted .667 (2-3, double, RBI), Gabrielle Estrada (double) and Andrea Guerrero both .333 (1-3), and Beatrice Gomez .250 (1-4).
Jazmyne Waddell struck out four, walked one, and allowed seven hits while facing 27 batters during 6 1/3 innings.
Dockum doubled in Waddell in the top of the fourth to account for the Miners lone run. Waddell reached base on a 2-out outfielder error. Guerrero singled on to advance Waddell to third, but a strikeout halted their scoring.
Morenci advanced to the semifinal berth opposite top-ranked Benson on May 10. The Bobcats have a pair of wins over the Wildcats this season, 4-1 in Morenci on March 26 and 5-1 in Benson on April 18.
Following two post-season games, the Wildcats batted .261 (12-46), left 14 runners on, struck out five times, received eight walks, got beaned twice, and posted two sacrifices compared to .158 (19-57), 10 stranded runners and 16 strikeouts for their opponents.
Morenci – 6, Round Valley – 4
Behind 4-3 in the sixth inning, a bases-loaded, one out Silvester double drove in Chavarria, a bases-loaded beaned senior Heather Lee drove in Lindsey, and a throwing error allowed Aguilar to add a third run before a strikeout halted the scoring.
Round Valley scored the game’s initial run, with freshman Merrick Newby doubling in singled junior Tatum Emerald with two outs in the first inning. Morenci tied it in it first plate appearance as a Rodriguez groundout allowed leadoff batter Silvester to come in.
The Elks went ahead as senior Leah Bates scored on a 2-out throwing error in the second and added two more in the third, Newby doubled in sophomore Karli Haws who reached base on an outfielder error, and freshman Emily Muth singled in Newby for a 4-1 advantage after three. However, the Elks were limited to three up and three down during the next four innings, both striking out and flying out five times, and grounding out twice.
Morenci added two in the fifth as junior Angel Ontiveros singled in a singled Medina and a Lee fielder’s choice allowed a walked Silvester to score with two outs.
The Wildcats batted .227 (5-22), left eight runners on, and committed four errors versus .143 (4-28), three stranded runners, and three errors by the Elks.
Silvester (double, 2 RBIs) and Lindsey both batted .500 (1-2), Medina .333 (1-3), and both Ontiveros (RBI) and Rodriguez (RBI) .250 (1-4) apiece.
Rodriguez struck out eight and allowed four hits while facing 28 batters during seven innings.
For the Elks, Newby batted .667 (2-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs) and both Muth (RBI) and Bates .333 (1-3) each.
Starting pitcher senior Emily Harcus struck out one, walked six, beaned two and allowed three hits while facing 25 batters during 6 1/3 innings. Freshman reliever Kyrie Walker walked one and yielded two hits while facing five batters during 2/3 innings.
2019 State Tourney
The semifinal round has the top four seeds meeting on the Rose Mofford Softball Complex on Friday, May 10. Top-ranked Benson (18-0 seeding record, 20.5449 rating) takes on No. 4 Morenci (12-4, 8.7873) and No. 2 Goodyear Trivium Prep (17-0, 16.6080) faces No. 3 Camp Verde (15-3, 14.4857).
Arizona State University will host the championship game Tuesday, May 14.
All of the Top 16 teams squared off for the first two rounds on the Rose Mofford Softball Complex May 3-4.
Second-round pairings or quarterfinals were Benson over No. 9 Phoenix Arizona Lutheran (14-4, 6. 6274) 10-0 in six innings, Morenci over No. 5 San Manuel (15-3, 8.4888) 2-1, Camp Verde over No. 6 Globe (16-3, 8.4835) 10-0 (6 inn.), and Trivium Prep over No. 10 Thatcher (10-7, 4.3635) 13-3 (6 inn.) May 4.
First-round results were Benson over No. 16 Phoenix Christian (10-7, 0.3907) 24-0, Arizona Lutheran over No. 8 Saint Johns (15-3, 6.5755) 8-2, San Manuel over No. 12 Willcox (7-9, 3.1295) 12-2, Morenci over No. 13 Round Valley (10-7, 2.2225) 6-4, Camp Verde over No. 14 Laveen Heritage (10-6, 0.6027) 14-0, Globe over No. 11 Chandler Prep (12-4, 4.2731) 6-5, Thatcher over No. 7 Flagstaff Northland Prep (13-3, 7.9372) 11-7, and Trivium Prep over No. 15 Pima (8-11, 0.5513) 6-1 May 3.
2019 Play-in Round
All eight pairings between the No. 9-24 rated teams were won by the higher seeds on May 1.
Advancing were No. 9 Arizona Lutheran, 8-6 over No. 24 Eloy Santa Cruz (6-9, minus 4.2050); No. 10 Thatcher, 20-9 over No. 23 Tonopah Valley (9-9, minus 2.7721); No. 11 Chandler Prep, 15-4 over No. 22 Parker (6-13, minus 2.5245); No. 12 Willcox, 16-8 over No. 21 Whiteriver Alchesay (10-8, minus 2.2197); No. 13 Round Valley, 6-1 over No. 20 Phoenix North Pointe Prep (9-9, minus 2.1133); No. 14 Heritage, 16-6 over No. 19 Scottsdale Christian (10-6, minus 1.1521); No. 15 Pima, 13-1 over No. 18 Wellton Antelope (11-5, minus 1.0265); and No. 16 Phoenix Christian, 10-9 over No. 17 Miami (9-7, minus 0.6209).
To purchase high-resolution pictures from the state tournament send a request to jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com.
