Cienega’s Eric Tatham will be coaching in his fifth championship game. (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

No. 3 Tucson lost to No. 7 Hamilton, 6-2 in the 6A semifinal round Thursday night at Rose Mofford. The Badgers finished the year 29-6 and in third place. It is the best finish for the program since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1990 and 1991.

In 5A softball action, No. 1 Cienega (27-7) beat No. 5 Chaparral 12-5 to advance to the 5A championship game to be played Monday, May 15 at ASU. It will be the fifth trip to the final game in program history. The Bobcats won it all in 2010 and in 2015.

No. 3 Sahuaro lost to No. 10 Queen Creek 12-5, sending the Cougars to one final semifinal game against Queen Creek to be played Friday night at Rose Mofford at 6:30 p.m. The winner of that game will face Cienega.

In Division II Golf from Del Urich, Desert Christian is in fifth place, 12 shots behind Northwest Christian after day one. Desert Christian standout Johnny Gleason (-3) is in third place, five shots back.

The final round will be played at Randolph North at 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning.

THURSDAY, MAY 11

SOFTBALL

6A Elimination Semifinal at Rose Mofford
No. 7 Hamilton beat No. 3 Tucson, 6-2

5A Semifinals at Rose Mofford
No. 1 Cienega beat No. 5 Chaparral, 12-5
No. 10 Queen Creek beat No. 3 Sahuaro, 6-3

D-III GOLF DAY 1

First Round: Thursday, May 11
Randolph Dell Urich GC

1 Frankie Capan, NW Christian -8
2 Cody Goza, Blue Ridge -6
3 Johnny Gleason, Desert Christian -3

FRIDAY, MAY 12

5A BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Championship at Mesquite
No. 1 Cienega vs. No. 2 Horizon, 5:15 p.m.

BASEBALL

3A Semifinal at Surprise Complex, 6 p.m.
No. 4 Sahuarita vs. No. 8 NW Christian

2A Semifinal at Goodyear Complex, 6:30 p.m.
No. 5 Willcox vs. No. 1 Joy Christian

1A Semifinal at Goodyear Complex, 6:30 p.m.
No. 3 Valley Union vs. No. 2 Bagdad

SOFTBALL

5A Semifinal at Rose Mofford, 6:30 p.m
No. 10 Queen Creek vs. No. 3 Sahuaro

D-III GOLF DAY 2

Randolph Golf Course, 8 a.m.

SATURDAY, MAY 13

BASEBALL

4A Championship at Hi Corbett
No. 2 Salpointe vs. No. 1 Nogales

MONDAY, MAY 15

5A Championship at ASU, 5:15 p.m.
No. 1 Cienega beat No. 5 Chaparral, 12-5
No. 3 Sahuaro vs. No. 10 Queen Creek

SOUTHERN ARIZONA CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

Canyon del Oro (9)
1991: 5A (Kathy McQuown)
2001: 5A (Dee Dinota)
2005: 5A (Kelly Fowler)
2007: 4A-I (Amy Swiderski)
2008: 4A-I (Amy Swiderski)
2009: 4A-I (Amy Swiderski)
2011: 4A-I (Kelly Fowler)
2012: D-II (Stephanie Nicholson)
2017: 4A (Kelly Fowler)

San Manuel (9)
1977: 4A (Sheila Baize)
1979: 4A (Sheila Baize)
1980: 4A (Sheila Baize)
1981: 3A (Sheila Baize)
1982: 3A (Sheila Baize)
1990: 3A (Jeff Rupright)
1994: 3A (Jeff Rupright)
2013: D4 (Deanne Brewer)
2014: D4 (Deanne Brewer)

Sahuaro (8)
1984: 5A (Jim Higgins)
1985: 5A (Jim Higgins)
1988: 5A (Billy Lopez)
1989: 4A/5A (Billy Lopez)
1991: 5A (Billy Lopez)
1992: 4A (Billy Lopez)
1993: 4A (Billy Lopez)
2001: 4A (Billy Lopez)

Santa Cruz (5)
1979: 3A (Rosie Starks)
1980: 3A (Rosie Starks)
2000: 3A (Ernie Montijo)
2006: 3A (Andrea Reyes)
2008: 3A (Andrea Reyes)

Benson (4)
2006: 2A (Shad Housley)
2008: 2A (Shad Housley)
2011: 2A (Manny Ellsworth)
2017: 2A (Yogi Wilson)

Flowing Wells (4)
1984: 4A (Debbie Cutrer)
1999: 5A (Armando Quiroz)
2000: 5A (Armando Quiroz)
2002: 5A (Armando Quiroz)

Cienega (2)
2010: 4A-I (Eric Tatham)
2015: D-II (Eric Tatham)

Desert Christian (2)
1998: 1A (Bill Moten)
1999: 1A (Gerald Dawson)

Ironwood Ridge (2)
2014: D-II (Rich Alday)
2016: D-II (Rich Alday)

Palo Verde Christian/Pusch Ridge (2)
1997: 1A (Tom Armour)
2012: D-IV (Bob Vance)

Pueblo (1)
1990: 4A (Lisa Pina)
2016: D-IV (Curtis Ruiz)

Empire (2)
2015: D-III (Shannon Woolridge)
2017: 3A (Shannon Woolridge)

Sabino (2)
1991: 4A (Bill Belt)
2005: 4A (Galen Paton)

Sahuarita (2)
1999: 3A (Chris Fanning)
2011: 4A-II (Chris Fanning)

Salpointe (2)
1993: 5A (Stacy Hill Iveson)
1996: 5A (Phil Gruensfelder)

Thatcher (2)
2002: 2A (Rachel Motes)
2003: 2A (Rachel Motes)

Bowie/San Simon (1)
1990: 1A (Mike Peterson)

Catalina Foothills (1)
2016: D-III (Mark Stevens)

Desert View (1)
2000: 4A (Bert Otero)

Rincon (1)
2002: 4A (Russ Proctor)

Santa Rita (1)
1980: 5A (Jan Dunlap)

Sunnyside (1)
2007: 5A-II (Pete Palomarez)

Willcox (1)
2010: 1A (Mike Patterson)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL ALL-STARS
2017 SOFTBALL/BASEBALL All-FRESHMAN TEAM

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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com