No. 10 Sunnyside tied its season series at one win apiece and snapped a three-game losing streak against No. 4 Tucson High with its 11-6 victory at Cherry Field on Thursday night.
Sunnyside (17-6-1, 3-1 6A South) avenged last week’s 2-0 loss at home against Tucson (14-8, 3-1) by using the home-run power of Ashley Rosthenhausler, a couple of two-run doubles by Kasandra Alcaraz and the perseverance of Tatyana Vega in the circle in Thursday’s victory.
“We knew we wanted it, and we came and got it,” Rosthenhausler said. “We were ready. Our energy was high — the second we got on the bus and the second we got here. Every single pitch, we were ready and we were excited.”
The 12-hit barrage with four players recording multiple hits was in stark contrast to last week’s shutout loss at the hands of Tucson ace Alyssa Torres.
Sunnyside could not manufacture runs against Tucson, leaving 11 runners on base in that game.
On a couple of occasions in that game when it appeared Sunnyside could break through with runs, Tucson coach Andy Camen intentionally walked Vega, who leads the Blue Devils with five home runs. Sunnyside could not muster run production afterward.
Thursday night, the strategy of intentionally walking Vega did not come to play because of how Sunnyside’s lineup batted around her at the cleanup spot.
.@SHSDevilSports coach Ozzie Carbajal has his team rated No. 10 in 6A, figuring to move up after beating No. 4 Tucson 11-6 tonight. The Blue Devils are 17-6-1 overall and tied with the Badgers at 3-1 atop the 6A South standings with five games left in the regular season,… pic.twitter.com/lp58I8zQKu
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 11, 2025
Leadoff hitter Vianney Cruz was 2 for 4 with two runs, No. 2 batter Bianco Cobo was 2 for 4 with three runs and No. 3 hitter Soleil Ponce was 3 for 5 with three runs.
Vega was 1 for 2 with two walks. She hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the seventh inning before Rosthenhausler belted her third home run of the season.
Alcaraz, the No. 6 batter, went 2 for 5 with four RBIs — the result of her two two-run doubles in the first inning (that helped Sunnyside build a 3-0 lead) and in the fourth inning (when the Blue Devils took a 7-4 lead).
“We wanted somebody to protect Taty because last game they walked her a couple of times and that was smart; that’s what you’ve got to do,” Sunnyside coach Ozzie Carbajal said. “We needed someone to protect her and Ash came through tonight. She laid down a very good bunt for us, and she came back and said, ‘Coach, what do you want me to do?’ I said, ‘Just be you,’ and she did.
“She had a great hit (with her three-run blast that cleared the fence in right-center by a few feet).”
Rosthenhausler, a Class of 2026 prospect as a pitcher, third baseman and designated hitter, is part of the famed family known for its exploits in baseball and softball mostly at Sunnyside.
Her father Paul Rosthenhausler Jr., an assistant on Carbajal’s staff, played at Sunnyside and Arizona Western. Ashley’s brothers Gabriel and Erik were standouts at Sunnyside.
Her uncle Rene was also a Blue Devil baseball player who played for Ernie Palomarez and cousin Adriana played softball at Sunnyside and Fort Lewis College.
Ashley’s grandfather Paul Sr. played at Pueblo and was an ASA Men’s Fast Pitch national champion in 1997 and ASA Men’s Fast Pitch 50 & Over national championship in 2005.
.@SHSDevilSports Class of 2026 prospect Ashley Rosthenhausler belted her fourth HR of the season and ninth in her HS career (she sat out last season with a knee injury) in the Blue Devils’ 11-6 win over Tucson. Her 3-run shot in the seventh inning helped Sunnyside build an 11-5… pic.twitter.com/jNVvLeEZGS
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 11, 2025
In the extended family, Ray Jr. played baseball at Sunnyside and Pima, where he was named to the JUCO All-World Series Team in 1983. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1982, 1983, 1984 and played with the organization for three years.
Ray Jr.’s son Nico played at Desert View and later at Oklahoma State. Another son Greg played at Sunnyside, Pima and Cal Baptist and the youngest Roman was also a standout at Desert View.
Ashley’s family is directly part of Ramon Sr.’s tree. Many more former baseball and softball players exist with the Rosthenhausler name on Sammy Rosthenhausler’s side of the family.
Ashley returned to Sunnyside this season after missing all of last year because of a knee injury. As a freshman two years ago, she pitched a no-hitter and one-hitter in the playoffs and also belted five home runs that season.
“I struggled a little bit in the beginning,” Ashley said of this season returning from her injury. “I’m getting better, slowly but surely. I’m excited for postseason. I really am.”
Vega also benefitted from the lineup’s production against Tucson as the ace in the circle.
She was staked to the 4-0 and 7-4 leads behind Alcaraz’s doubles and weathered enough of Tucson’s talented lineup to improve to 6-1 with a 1.72 ERA.
Vega, who is bound for Pima’s program along with Ponce, has also shown the most power at the plate to this point.
She was on the short end of Sunnyside’s three-game losing streak against Tucson entering Thursday’s game. Both regular-season games last year went to extra innings and last week’s loss at Sunnyside was close throughout.
.@SHSDevilSports senior ace Taty Vega finally broke through with a win against rival Tucson after coming up short in three straight tight games against the Badgers dating to last season. The @PimaAthletics signee persevered in the 11-6 win to improve to 6-1 with a 1.72 ERA this… pic.twitter.com/IPjOv3TWxM
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 11, 2025
“It felt amazing; it sucked losing those three times and I’m glad we finally got them,” Vega said. “This is the last time we play them this year. It’s my senior year. I’m glad we came out and whipped some butt.”
The teams may actually face each other again in the postseason as they did two years ago when Sunnyside beat Tucson to reach the elimination-bracket final game of the 6A tournament.
Both programs are capable of making deep runs as their power ratings indicate.
Sunnyside plays four of its last five regular-season games on the road. The Blue Devils play their last home game Monday against Marana at 6 p.m.. Tucson has eight games remaining with five on the road, including Friday at 4 p.m. against Buena.
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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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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