No. 5 Canyon del Oro will go for a repeat 4A state championship tonight at 7 p.m. when the Dorados play No. 2 Scottsdale Saguaro at Diablo Stadium in Tempe.
The Dorados (20-10) are unbeaten in the postseason, going 4-0 including a victory over No. 1 Salpointe, to reach the championship game.
They have won 10 of their last 11 games. After starting the season with a 7-7 record, CDO has gone 13-3 since.
The Sabercats (25-8) reached the championship game by first elevating from the elimination bracket. They beat Sahuarita twice (9-1 Wednesday and 16-1 Thursday) to get the opportunity to play the Dorados.
CDO and Saguaro did not play each other during the regular season.
CDO has won nine state championships, including last year’s 7-6 win over Salpointe at Hi Corbett Field.
The Dorados are coached by former Arizona standout pitcher Jason Hisey, who is in his fifth year at CDO (88-28 record there) and in his 18th season as a head coach overall with a record of 382-131.
Hisey coached at Catalina Foothills from 1995-2005 and went 256-78, coaching the Falcons to three state championship appearances in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
He took over the Ironwood Ridge program in 2009 and guided the Nighthawks to two quarterfinal appearances in the state tournament. He was 38-25 in his two years there.
Saguaro is making its fourth state championship appearance. The Sabercats won their previous three games in 1992, 2010 and 2011.
They defeated Catalina Foothills 15-5 in nine innings in 2010 for the championship.
Sophomore center fielder Cam Caminiti, cousin of late big-leaguer Ken Caminiti, and junior outfielder/left-hander Cade Shumard are two of Saguaro’s standouts.
Cam Caminiti, who has already committed to LSU, leads Saguaro in batting (.446) and home runs (four).
Shumard, who is uncommitted, performs well on the mound and at the plate. He leads the Sabercats in innings pitched (52), wins (seven), ERA (1.62) and strikeouts (75), and he has produced the most RBIs (31).
CDO senior Lucas Casey, a right-hander and center fielder who is headed to Cal State Northridge, leads the Dorados in six major statistical categories — home runs (six), RBIs (34), innings pitched (77), wins (10), ERA (1.43) and strikeouts (93).
Senior second baseman Jacob Charlson is batting ,446 with 33 RBIs. He will attend Webster University in St. Louis.
Here is a statistical comparison of the two teams and their leaders:
LEADERS |  |  |
AVERAGE | Cam Caminiti, CF, Soph., .446 Zander Bratspis, RF, Fr., .435 Louis Busseri, C, Soph., .393 | Jacob Charlson, 2B, Sr., .446 Brady Mitchell, DH, Soph., .419 Michael Jones, CF, Jr., .396 |
HITS | Cade Shumard, OF, Jr., 38 Cam Schimidt, 1B, Jr., 35 Billy Gregory, 3B, Jr., 32 | Jacob Charlson, 2B, Sr., 41 Michael Jones, CF, Jr., 38 Lucas Casey, RF, Sr., 34 |
HR | Cam Caminiti, CF, Soph., 4 Cade Shumard, OF, Jr., 2 Tanner Nelson, OF, Sr., 2 | Lucas Casey, RF, Sr., 6 Jacob Charlson, 2B, Sr., 3 Chris Humphreys, LF, Jr., 2 Michael Jones, CF, Jr., 2 |
RBI | Cade Shumard, OF, Jr., 31 Billy Gregory, 3B, Jr., 30 Cam Schmidt, 1B, Jr., 26 Tanner Nelson, OF, Sr., 26 | Lucas Casey, RF, Sr., 34 Jacob Charlson, 2B, Sr., 33 Michael Jones, CF, Jr., 32 |
INNINGS PITCHED | Cade Shumard, LHP, Jr., 52 Billy Gregory, RHP, Jr., 46.2 Chris Margarella, RHP, Jr., 26.2 | Lucas Casey, RHP, Sr., 77 Chris Humphreys, RHP, Jr., 34 Adrien Marquez, RHP, Sr., 33.2 |
WINS | Cade Shumard, LHP, Jr., 7 Billy Gregory, RHP, Jr., 5 Tanner Nelson, RHP, Sr., 2 | Lucas Casey, RHP, Sr., 10 Adrien Marquez, RHP, Sr., 4 Regen Mazura, LHP, Fr., 3 |
ERA | Cade Shumard, LHP, Jr., 1.62 Billy Gregory, RHP, Jr., 1.95 Dougie McKeddie, RHP, Sr., 2.00 | Lucas Casey, RHP, Sr., 1.45 Chris Humphreys, RHP, Jr., 3.29 Adrien Marquez, RHP, Sr., 3.53 |
STRIKEOUTS | Cade Shumard, LHP, Jr., 75 Billy Gregory, RHP, Jr., 58 Chris Margarella, RHP, Jr., 28 | Lucas Casey, RHP, Sr., 93 Chris Humphreys, RHP, Jr., 39 Adrien Marquez, RHP, Sr., 37 |
BATTING | | |
RECORD | 25-8 | 20-10 |
AVERAGE | .351 | .328 |
RUNS | 246 | 263 |
HITS | 290 | 268 |
RBI | 227 | 227 |
DOUBLES | 67 | 58 |
TRIPLES | 14 | 10 |
HOME RUNS | 12 | 16 |
WALKS | 178 | 178 |
STRIKEOUTS | 162 | 145 |
PITCHING | | |
INNINGS PITCHED | 198.1 | 190 |
ERA | 2.82 | 2.99 |
WIN | 25 | 20 |
LOSS | 8 | 10 |
HITS | 202 | 175 |
RUNS | 130 | 121 |
EARNED RUNS | 80 | 83 |
WALKS | 83 | 76 |
STRIKEOUTS | 231 | 212 |
OPPONENT AVG. | .258 | .231 |
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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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