A new edition of the Tucson Conquistadores Weekly Prep Report leading up to the spring playoffs. All records are power-ranking records.
We took a quick look at the top-10 ranked teams from each sport last week. This week, let’s get a snapshot of the playoff picture for each sport:
BASEBALL
No. 21 Tucson (7-7) and No. 25 Sunnyside (5-8) are fighting for a spot in the 6A Conference Play-In Tournament scheduled for Wednesday, April 25. The Badgers are 2-0 in the 6A Southern Tucson Subregion and the Blue Devils are 1-0. The two teams will play each other on April 18 and 19 for a shot at the Yuma Subregion champion. That game will be played on Monday, April 23.
No. 5 Flowing Wells (13-3), No. 7 Buena (10-5), No. 14 Cienega (7-7), No. 18 Ironwood Ridge (5-9), No. 21 Sahuaro (7-8) and No. 24 Mountain View (5-9) are all in the running for a 5A playoff spot with the Cougars and Mountain Lions playing on the edge. The Caballeros can claim a piece of the 5A Sonoran title if they win out and, if they do win out, the automatic playoff berth will be there’s due to a better conference record over Poston Butte. Buena and Cienega are playing each other on Monday, April 16. If the Colts win then they will be 5A Southern Region champs. A Bobcat victory will keep the region title open.
No. 1 Nogales (14-1), No. 2 Catalina Foothills (13-1), No. 2 Canyon del Oro (10-4), No. 8 Salpointe (10-6), No. 17 Douglas (9-5) and No. 21 Walden Grove (6-9) are all in the 4A playoff mix while No. 26 Rio Rico (8-6) and No. 27 Amphitheater (7-7) still have a shot at the play-in tourney. The region races are still too close to call.
No. 1 Sabino (15-1), No. 4 Sahuarita (10-3), No. 6 Catalina (11-2), No. 9 Empire (8-5) and No. 13 Pusch Ridge (6-6) appear to be safe bets from the 3A Conference. The Sabercats can win the 3A South Region with a victory over Catalina on Tuesday, April 17. The top two teams in 3A regions get an automatic playoff berth.
No. 2 Bisbee (12-1), No. 3 Willcox (11-2) are the only 2A teams from Southern Arizona that appear to be safe bets.
No. 3 Baboquivari (11-2), No. 5 St. David (7-4), No. 8 Valley Union are set from the 1A Conference.
SOFTBALL
No. 11 Tucson (10-5) and No. 15 Rincon/UHS (8-7) appear to be safe bets but No. 21 Sunnyside (7-7) needs to keep winning to stay in the top 24 for a shot at the 6A Play-In Tournament. The 6A Southern Tucson Subregion is still up in the air.
No. 4 Ironwood Ridge (13-1), No. 5 Cienega (12-2), No. 15 Sahuaro (7-8) and No. 17 Mountain View (8-7) appear to be safe for the 5A playoffs while No. 22 Desert View (9-5) and No. 23 Marana (7-7) are on the edge.
No. 3 Salpointe (14-2), No. 5 Canyon del Oro (11-2), No. 9 Amphitheater (15-1), No. 15 Rio Rico (9-4) and No. 18 Douglas (10-5) are in line for a 4A playoff spot. No. 25 Pueblo (7-6) needs to keep winning to get back into contention. Amphitheater has already claimed the 4A Gila Region title. Salpointe and Canyon del Oro will play each other on Tuesday.
No. 8 Empire (11-3), No. 10 Sabino (10-4) and No. 11 Sahuarita (10-3) are the 3A teams from Southern Arizona and No. 21 Pusch Ridge (8-6) can stay in contention with a couple more victories.
No. 1 Benson (13-0), No. 4 Willcox (10-2) and No. 10 Santa Cruz (11-3) appear to be in from Southern Arizona in the 2A ranks. Benson still has five region games to play.
No. 5 Valley Union (8-2) and No. 8 St. David (6-5) are in from 1A. The two teams will play each other on Monday for the 1A South championship.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
No. 13 Tucson (8-4) and No. 19 Rincon/UHS (5-6) are in position for a 6A playoff spot but No. 25 Sunnyside (3-7) has work to do.
No. 2 Mountain View (13-1), No. 3 Cienega (12-2), No. 6 Salpointe (10-1), No. 7 Ironwood Ridge (10-3), No. 10 Sahuaro, No. 13 Canyon del Oro (7-4) and No. 14 Pueblo (9-4) are the 5A teams that look safe but No. 21 Buena (6-8) needs to keep winning. No. 26 Flowing Wells (7-5), No. 27 Catalina Foothills (3-7) and No. 28 Sabino (2-7) have work to do. Ironwood Ridge won the 5A Sonoran title.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
No. 1 Salpointe (10-0) and No. 7 Ironwood Ridge (8-3) are in. The Lancers won the Division I, Section VII championship.
BOYS TENNIS
No. 11 Buena (10-3) is in the D-I playoffs. No. 16 Rincon/UHS (8-3) has to win one more to remain in the top 16 and hope all section champions are in the top 16 to avoid getting bumped out.
No. 1 Catalina Foothills (13-0), No. 3 Salpointe (11-2) and No. 4 Nogales (11-1) are from D-II. No. 13 Ironwood Ridge (10-3) is on the edge. Catalina Foothills won the D-II, S-VII title.
No. 2 Pusch Ridge (12-1) and No. 4 Gregory School (15-0) while No. 14 Desert Christian and No. 16 Sahuarita and No. 17 Benson (7-6) are battling it out. Pusch Ridge plays Sahuarita on Tuesday. Gregory School won the D-III, S-III title.
GIRLS TENNIS
No. 4 Rincon/UHS (12-0) is in. No. 14 Mountain View has to win one more to be safe in D-I. Rincon/UHS won the D-I, S-VII championship.
No. 2 Catalina Foothills (13-0), No. 5 Nogales (13-1), No. 7 Salpointe (10-3) and No. 13 Ironwood Ridge (10-4) are the D-II teams. Catalina Foothills won the D-II, S-VII title.
No. 5 Pusch Ridge (11-2), No. 7 Sahuarita (12-1), No. 8 Benson (10-3) and No. 11 Gregory School (14-1) are safe in D-III but No. 15 Tombstone (10-3) and No. 17 Tanque Verde (9-3) are hoping to get in. Sahuarita and Pusch Ridge play on Tuesday.
D-III GOLF
No. 4 Desert Christian is in from Section 7.
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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 is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com
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