Ponytail (Sierra Vista) beat Willcox 5-4 to capture the championship of the District 10-12 Softball championship. Ponytail will join Thornydale and Sunnyside in Verde Valley starting on July 8.
Nogales won the District 8 8-10 Baseball championship with a 13-1 victory over Sierra Vista. Nogales will join Canyon View and the D-12 Champion in Mesa starting on July 11.
The Little League Majors district championships for District 8 and District 12 are still up for grabs with Nogales (2-0), Douglas (1-0), Benson San Pedro (1-1), Willcox (0-1), Sierra Vista (0-1) and Bisbee (0-1) still alive in District 8 taking place in Nogales and Sahuarita Copper Hills (2-0), Rincon (2-0), Sunnyside (2-1) and Randolph (1-1) still alive in District 12 taking place at the Field of Dreams Complex.
The 8-10 Baseball and 9-11 Baseball championships for District 12 are also still up for grabs with the 8-10 final taking place on July 6 and the 9-11 championship on July 5.
Rincon beat Cactus 7-0 Saturday night at the Field of Dreams Complex to force the ‘If Game” of the 9-11 bracket. Cactus sent Rincon to the Elimination Bracket with a 4-3 victory last Saturday and Rincon battled back with wins over Los Ninos, Copper Hills and Sunnyside to make it to the championship series. Since that loss, Rincon has outscored opponents 45-1.
Gage Mayfield held Cactus scoreless, only giving up two hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. He gave up a single to Ezequiel Figueroa in the first inning and a double to Jose Manuel Tamayo in the fourth.
Brendan Byars scored Justus Sipe on an RBI double in the top of the first and it turned out to be the only run the team from the Vail area needed. Sipe had an RBI double of his own in the third and Bryant Wall added another RBI to help put Rincon up 4-0.
Cactus came up with a triple play in the fourth inning to avoid further damage but and RBI from Sipe and another from Hudson Haner put Rincon up 6-0 in the fifth an Sipe knocked in the final run in the sixth. Rincon’s defense also came up with an impressive stand in the bottom of the fourth after Cactus loaded the bases with one out. Mayfield induced a fly ball and then a grounder to get out of that jam.
Mark Gaxiola-Carrillo and Ian Perez saw pitching action for Cactus.
The championship game is set for Tuesday, July 5 at 6:30 p.m.
DISTRICT CHAMPIONS
D-5 SOFTBALL 8-10: THORNYDALE
D-12 SOFTBALL 8-10: SUNNYSIDE
D-12 SOFTBALL 9-11: RINCON
D-5 SOFTBALL 10-12: THORNYDALE
D-8 SOFTBALL 10-12: SIERRA VISTA PONYTAIL
D-12 SOFTBALL 10-12: SUNNYSIDE
D-5 SOFTBALL JUNIORS: MARANA
D-8 SOFTBALL JUNIORS: BENSON SAN PEDRO
D-12 SOFTBALL JUNIORS: SUNNYSIDE
D-5 BASEBALL 8-10: CANYON VIEW
D-8 BASEBALL 8-10: NOGALES
D-5 BASEBALL 9-11: CANYON VIEW
D-8 BASEBALL 9-11: NOGALES
D-5 BASEBALL 10-12: MARANA
D-5 BASEBALL 50/70: WESTERN
D-8 BASEBALL 50/70: NOGALES
D-12 BASEBALL 50/70: SUNNYSIDE
D-5 BASEBALL JUNIORS: WESTERN
D-8 BASEBALL JUNIORS: NOGALES
D-12 BASEBALL JUNIORS: SUNNYSIDE
D-8 BASEBALL SENIORS: NOGALES
SATURDAY, JULY 2
D-12 BASEBALL 8-10: PURPLE HEART
Rincon 17, Empire 2
Sunnyside 12, Copper Hills 2
D-12 BASEBALL 9-11: FIELD OF DREAMS
Rincon 7, Cactus 0
D-12 BASEBALL 10-12: FIELD OF DREAMS
Randolph 5, Cactus 3
Sunnyside 9, Southwestern 0
TUESDAY, JULY 5
D-12 BASEBALL 8-10: PURPLE HEART
Empire vs. Sunnyside, 6:30 p.m. (Elimination)
D-12 BASEBALL 9-11: FIELD OF DREAMS
Rincon vs. Cactus, 6:30 p.m. (Championship)
D-12 BASEBALL 10-12: FIELD OF DREAMS
Copper Hills vs. Rincon, 5:15 p.m.
Randolph vs. Sunnyside, 7:45 p.m. (Elimination)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6
D-12 BASEBALL 8-10: PURPLE HEART
Rincon vs. TBD, 6:30 p.m. (Championship)
D-12 BASEBALL 10-12: FIELD OF DREAMS
Elimination Game, 6:30 p.m.
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Named one of “Arizona’s Heart & Sol” by KOLD and Casino del Sol, Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and a 2019 AZ Education News recognition. He was a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling and his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is a 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. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. He earned a Distinguished Service Award from Amphitheater and he was recognized by City Councilman Richard Fimbres. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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