Preston Clifford (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

It was a big night for Southern Arizona. Cienega brought home the 5A softball championship, Nogales held on for the 4A baseball title and Sabino claimed the 3A baseball trophy. If you are keeping track of the baseball and softball leaderboard, as Southern Arizonans do, five of the 12 possible championship trophies have made it home with a sixth to be decided on Tuesday night.

No. 3 Cienega beat No. 8 Ironwood Ridge 8-2 at ASU’s Farrington Stadium to claim the fourth state championship in school history, all under the guidance of head coach Eric Tatham. Cienega (29-6) won the first championship in program history in 2010 with the second coming in 2015.

A disappointing 2016 campaign by the Bobcats was followed by another state championship in 2017. The victory over the Nighthawks Monday night pushed Tatham past a solid group of coaches on the all-time championship list with only former San Manual coach Sheila Baize (5) and Sahuaro legend Billy Lopez (6) ahead of him from Southern Arizona.

The win also made senior standout Abby Doughty the most decorated athlete in Cienega history with three championships. Doughty is the only remaining freshman from the 2015 championship team.

Ironwood Ridge (27-10) breezed through the playoffs, outscoring opponents 36-3, but the Nighthawks met up with their 5A Southern Region foes in the championship game. The two teams split their regular season games this year.

MORE ON THE CHAMPIONSHIPS HERE

Markie Lopez (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

MONDAY, MAY 14

SOFTBALL: 5A CHAMPIONSHIP at ASU
No. 3 Cienega 8, No. 8 Ironwood Ridge 2

BASEBALL: 4A CHAMPIONSHIP at Hi Corbett
No. 1 Nogales 3, No.2 Catalina Foothills 2

BASEBALL: 3A CHAMPIONSHIP at Hi Corbett
No. 1 Sabino 6, No. 3 Sahuarita 4

TUESDAY, MAY 15

SOFTBALL: 4A CHAMPIONSHIP at ASU
No. 5 Salpointe vs. No. 3 Cactus, 6:30 p.m.

SOUTHERN ARIZONA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tucson High (29)
1912: 5A (James F. McKale)
1913: 5A (James F. McKale)
1918: 5A (Arthur Smith)
1920: 5A (M.N. Porter)
1922: 5A (Aaron McCreary)
1924: 5A (Richard Meyer)
1930: 5A (Andy Tolson)
1932: 5A (Andy Tolson)
1935: 5A (Andy Tolson)
1937: 5A (Andy Tolson)
1939: 5A (Andy Tolson)
1940: 5A (Andy Tolson)
1941: 5A (Andy Tolson)
1942: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1943: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1944: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1945: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1946: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1948: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1950: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1951: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1952: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1954: 5A (Hank Slagle)
1955: 5A (Lee Carey)
1956: 5A (Lee Carey)
1959: 5A (Ray Adkins)
1972: 5A (Ray Adkins)
1987: 5A (Tom Lundy)
1988: 5A (Tom Lundy)

St. David (17)
1965: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1966: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1967: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1980: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1984: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1986: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1987: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1988: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1989: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1990: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1991: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1993: 1A (Jim Crawford)
1997: 1A (John Sands)
2000: 1A (Jim Crawford)
2001: 1A (Jim Crawford)
2002: 1A (Jim Crawford)
2012: D-IV (Ron Goodman)

Nogales (11)
1951: 4A (James Concannon)
1952: 4A (James Concannon)
1954: 4A (James Concannon)
1955: 4A (James Concannon)
1956: 4A (James Concannon)
1965: 4A (James Concannon)
1971: 4A (James Concannon)
1976: 4A (Bob Young)
1981: 4A (Bob Young)
2017: 4A (OJ Favela)
2018: 4A (OJ favela)

Canyon del Oro (8)
1979: 5A (Roger Werbylo)
1984: 5A (Roger Werbylo)
1994: 5A (Phil Wright)
1997: 5A (Phil Wright)
2000: 5A (Kent Winslow)
2002: 5A (Keith Francis)
2009: 4A (Len Anderson)
2015: D-II (Keith Francis)

Douglas (8)
1953: 3A (Barney Leigh)
1958: 3A (Tom Lay)
1960: 3A (Ike Sharp)
1961: 3A (Ike Sharp)
1962: 3A (Ike Sharp)
1975: 4A (Manny Valenzuela)
1978: 4A (Manny Valenzuela)
2001: 4A (Jaime Tadeo)

Bisbee (5)
1947: 3A (Waldo Dicus)
1966: 3A (Dick Atkinson)
1993: 2A (Mike Frosco)
2002: 2A (Mike Frosco)
2008: 2A (Mike Frosco)

San Manuel (5)
1963: 3A (Hal Eustice)
1971: 3A (John Bunch)
1973: 3A (John Bunch)
1985: 3A (Don Payne)
1992: 3A (Don Payne)

Santa Cruz (5)
1975: 3A (Brad Moon)
1976: 3A (Brad Moon)
1982: 3A (Kent Winslow)
1990: 2A (Scott Cook)
1991: 2A (Scott Cook)

Valley Union (5)
1970: 1A (John Grimes)
1971: 1A (Tim Hart)
1973: 1A (Tim Hart)
1974: 1A (Tim Hart)
2008: 1A (Tony Luzania)

Patagonia (4)
1963: 1A (Reg LeFevre)
1964: 1A (Reg LeFevre)
1972: 1A (David Thompson)
1996: 1A (Mike Slenk)

Willcox (4)
1956: 1A (Joe Anaya)
1999: 2A (Russ Bethel)
2000: 2A (Russ Bethel)
2001: 2A (Russ Bethel)

Desert Christian (3)
2013: D-IV (Grant Hopkins)
2014: D-IV (Grant Hopkins)
2015: D-IV (Grant Hopkins)

Sahuarita (3)
1974: 2A (Wes Gentner)
1984: 3A (Wes Gentner)
2005: 3A (Bryan Huie)

Sahuaro (3)
1973: 5A (Hal Eustice)
1974: 5A (Hal Eustice)
1982: 5A (Hal Eustice)

Benson (2)
1963: 2A (James Cummings)
1987: 2A (Ken Smith)

Catalina (2)
1967: 5A (Cliff Myrick)
2011: 4A-II (Tony Gabusi)

Duncan (2)
2004: 1A (Andrew Larson)
2005: 1A (Chano Talavera)

Rincon (2)
1962: 5A (Lee Carey)
1971: 5A (Gary Grabosch)

Sabino (2)
1997: 5A (Mike Bejarano)
2018: 3A (Mark Chandler)

Tanque Verde (2)
2009: 1A (James Lawwill)
2011: 1A (James Lawwill)

Tombstone (2)
1977: 2A (John Escarcega)
1994: 2A (Ron Ingrum)

Amphitheater (1)
1980: 5A (Paul Gabaldon)

Desert View (1)
1991: 4A (Rene Rodriguez)

Flowing Wells (1)
1983: 4A (John Gleeson)

Green Fields (1)
1998: 1A (Frank Trujillo)

Marana (1)
1969: 2A (Joe Acker)

Palo Verde (1)
2014: D-III (Jim Mentz)

Pueblo (1)
1990: 4A (Jon Holstrom)

Pusch Ridge (1)
2009: 2A (Doug Jones)

Santa Rita (1)
1986: 5A (Dan Moore)

St. Gregory (1)
1999: 1A (Shane Sherwood)

SOUTHERN ARIZONA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

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)

Benson (5)
2006: 2A (Shad Housley)
2008: 2A (Shad Housley)
2011: 2A (Manny Ellsworth)
2017: 2A (Yogi Wilson)
2018: 2A (Yogi Wilson)

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

Cienega (4)
2010: 4A-I (Eric Tatham)
2015: D-II (Eric Tatham)
2017: 5A (Eric Tatham)
2018: 5A (Eric Tatham)

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

Sahuarita (3)
1999: 3A (Chris Fanning)
2011: 4A-II (Chris Fanning)
2018: 3A (Chris Fanning)

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 (2)
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)

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

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)

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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