San Xavier’s loss to Sunnyside in the opening round of the District 12 Juniors tournament last weekend apparently was the wakeup call it needed.
Since that 11-8 setback that sent it to the elimination bracket, San Xavier has stayed alive with three consecutive wins by scores of 32-4 against Los Niños, 18-14 against Southwestern and then 15-0 in a rematch with Sunnyside on Thursday night in the championship round at Jesse Owens Park.
That’s 65 runs in three games, an average of 21.7 runs.
Asked about facing Sunnyside again, San Xavier manager Tony Diaz, “We felt good. We know they caught us on a bad day and hats off to them, they caught us. That’s baseball. Here we are again and we’re evened up. Now, it’s winner take all and my boys are hyped for it. They’re ready for it.”
Sunnyside and San Xavier will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Jesse Owens Park with the winner advancing to the state tournament that starts July 23 at Nogales.
Western, which was uncontested in District 5, has qualified for that tournament. The District 8 representative will be either Nogales or Sierra Vista. They start a best-of-three series on July 13 at Nogales.
San Xavier right-hander George Acuña was impressive against Sunnyside on Thursday, pitching four scoreless innings while allowing only two hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
He was also 1 for 3 with two runs, a stolen base and RBI.
San Xavier right-hander George Acuña the winning pitcher, allowing only two hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in the 15-0 four-inning win over Sunnyside. Also went 1 for 3 with two runs, stolen base and RBI. pic.twitter.com/e690KgaTGC
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) July 2, 2021
“It was a good day for me throwing strikes, attacking the zone,” said Acuña, who did not allow a baserunner to advance past second base. “It was an overall good day. I would rate this performance a 10 out of 10.”
To pitch that well with a win-or-go-home scenario was “perfect timing,” Acuña added.
San Xavier’s lineup, from top to bottom, had perfect timing with their swings and showed patience at the plate. They tallied six hits that were combined with six errors, mostly in a six-run first inning and eight-run fourth inning.
“We just came out aggressive,” Diaz said. “I told the boys from the start, ‘Come out swinging the bats aggressive and let’s go, 1 through 11 (including two reserves). Let’s find a way.”
San Xavier manager Tony Diaz comments after his team’s 15-0 win over Sunnyside to force a deciding game for the District 12 Juniors championship tomorrow against Sunnyside. pic.twitter.com/6I2bsS2zJi
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) July 2, 2021
The top batters in addition to Acuña were Antonio Diaz (3 for 3 with two runs and an RBI), Carlos Alvarez (1 for 2 with two runs and two RBIs), Jacob Badilla (1 for 2 with two runs and an RBI), Andrew Delgado (1 for 2 with a run and RBI) and Poli Castro (an RBI triple in his only official at-bat).
“We’re all a good strong team; we can all hit, play the game and hit the ball … we’re all good,” Acuña said.
As for again facing a do-or-die situation in Friday’s game, he added, “Just make the plays, hit the ball, throw strikes and win.”
Angel Rodriguez and Carlos Urias produced Sunnyside’s hits.
Note: * denotes elimination bracket game
Little League Softball
District 12
9-10-11
Sunnyside is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Payson on July 15.
Majors
Sunnyside is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Queen Creek on July 6.
District 5
8-9-10
Continental Ranch is the district champion advancing to the state tournament at Cottonwood beginning July 9.
Majors
Marana is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Queen Creek on July 6.
Juniors
Thornydale is the district champion heading to the state tournament that will be held at Arthur Pack starting July 5.
Little League Baseball
District 12
Intermediate 50/70
Copper Hills is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Nogales on July 16.
8-9-10 (Jesse Owens)
Thursday, July 1
*Game Seven: Cactus 13, Copper Hills 3
Friday, July 2
Game Eight: Championship — Rincon vs. Cactus, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 3
Game Nine: Championship (if necessary, if Cactus wins Game Eight), 6:30 p.m.
9-10-11 (Field of Dreams)
Thursday, July 1
Game Seven: Rincon 5, Copper Hills 2
*Game Eight: Sunnyside 2, Los Niños 1
Saturday, July 3
*Game Nine: Copper Hills vs. Sunnyside, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, July 5
Game Ten: Championship (Rincon vs. Winner Game Nine), 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 6
Game Eleven: Championship (if necessary, if Winner Game Nine wins Game Ten), 6:30 p.m.
Majors (Field of Dreams)
Thursday, July 1
*Game Five: Copper Hills 6, Cactus 1
*Game Six: Randolph 12, Southwestern 0
Ayden Galvan had 12 strikeouts in a no-hitter and Armando Bejarano went 2 for 3 with a double and two-run home run for Randolph.
Saturday, July 3
Game Seven: Sunnyside vs. Empire, 5:15 p.m.
Game Eight: San Xavier vs. Rincon, 7:45 p.m.
Monday, July 5
*Game Nine: Copper Hills vs. Loser Game Eight, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Ten: Randolph vs. Loser Game Seven, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday, July 6
Game Eleven: Winner Game Seven vs. Winner Game Eight, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Twelve: Winner Game Nine vs. Winner Game Ten, 7:45 p.m.
Wednesday, July 7
*Game Thirteen: Winner Game Twelve vs. Loser Game Eleven, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, July 9
Game Fourteen: Championship (Winner Game Eleven vs. Winner Game Thirteen), 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 10
Game Fifteen: Championship (if necessary, if Winner Game Thirteen wins Game Fourteen), 6:30 p.m.
Juniors (Jesse Owens)
Thursday, July 1
Game Six: Championship — San Xavier (from elimination bracket) 15, Sunnyside 0
Friday, July 2
Game Seven: Championship — San Xavier vs. Sunnyside, 6:30 p.m.
District 5
8-9-10
Canyon View is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Silver Lake Park starting July 17.
9-10-11
Canyon View is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Litchfield Park starting July 16.
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Majors
Oro Valley is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Tempe starting July 16.
Intermediate 50/70
Continental Ranch is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Nogales starting July 16.
Juniors
Western is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Nogales starting July 23.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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