Sunnyside High School’s seniors went beyond the normal last home appearance celebration customary for Senior Day following Wednesday’s 9-5 win over Avondale West Point in the 6A state playoffs play-in game.
It was actually not Senior Day because that took place Monday when Sunnyside (20-8) played its last home game of the regular season against Vista Grande.
Following the win over West Point, Sunnyside’s seniors Ashley Rosthenhausler (the captain), Yzabella Armenta, Vianney Cruz and Annysa Pacho engaged in a 20-minute celebration that included their parents removing their cleats near home plate.
Sunnyside captain Ashley Rosthenhausler and her fellow senior teammates Yzabella Armenta, Vianney Cruz and Anyssa Pacho experienced a unique ceremony at what might be their last home game of their high school careers. The parents removed their cleats at home plate and painted a… pic.twitter.com/cqq1qdgvWJ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 30, 2026
The seniors also had their hands painted blue by a parent and then planted their palms on a poster with their name.
“I love being part of this team; they’re all like my sisters,” said Rosthenhausler, the ace who improved to 13-7 with a 2.06 ERA following her complete-game 12-strikeout performance against West Point.
“I’ve grown up with a lot of these girls. I’ve definitely come closer to some of these girls due to softball. We’re with each other 24 hours every day. We spend no time away from each other. … We’re just funny. We love to hang out. We just understand each other; that’s what makes us so close.”
Sunnyside senior Ashley Rosthenhausler battled her way back from a 3-0 deficit in the first inning to beat Avondale West Point 9-5 in the 6A play-in game. The New Mexico Highlands commit struck out 12 batters, increasing her career total to 287. pic.twitter.com/BuJBJIx81f
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 30, 2026
Sunnyside may actually have another home game in the 6A playoffs, especially with a double-elimination format, but that uncertainty made it wise for the Blue Devils to celebrate the seniors one more time when given the opportunity.
They are a No. 9 seed opening the 6A playoffs at No. 8 Gilbert Perry (19-10) on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Rosthenhausler is a four-year letter winner in softball, who has a background of playing with the highly successful Desert Thunder organization for her father Paul Jr., a former standout baseball player at Sunnyside.
The Rosthenhauslers are a well-documented, esteemed local family in baseball and softball.
Sunnyside coach Ozzy Carbajal’s team is 20-8 and will likely be the No. 9 seed in the 6A tournament that starts Saturday after No. 9 Sunnyslope lost at home against No. 24 Millennium 12-1 tonight in a play-in game. The Blue Devils, seeded No. 10 entering the play-round,… pic.twitter.com/3NsKCgjveZ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 30, 2026
Ashley’s grandfather Paul played at Pueblo and was an ASA Men’s Fast Pitch National Champion 1997. He also won the ASA Men’s Fast Pitch 50 & Over National Championship in 2005.
Her father played at Arizona Western after graduating from Sunnyside.
Paul Jr. also coached Ashley’s older brothers Gabriel and Erik with the Tucson Hurricanes youth baseball club before they went on to star at Sunnyside.
Her cousin Adriana played collegiately at Fort Lewis College after graduating from Sunnyside in 2013.
The Rosthenhausler baseball/softball family extends well beyond that, including Ashley’s second cousin Ray Rosthenhausler Jr., a Sunnyside legend who played at Pima, where was named to the All-JUCO 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. has the distinction of being drafted in the first round three times.
It is no wonder with Ashley being the youngest sibling of her family, that she and her close ones wanted to soak in the softball field atmosphere at Sunnyside on Wednesday night as much as they could after the victory over West Point.
Rosthenhausler’s performances, especially of late in the midst of Sunnyside’s eight-game winning streak, reflect how she has impacted her teammates with her desire to finish her Blue Devil career strongly.
“The girls have come out here lately and done a good job, and Ashley has put us under her wing; she’s been leading us,” Sunnyside coach Ozzie Carbajal said. “I’m happy with where the girls are at. It’s only going to get tougher and we know that. We just have to take it game by game, and hopefully we’ll continue hitting.”
Sunnyside tallied 10 hits in Wednesday’s win, including a couple of three-run home runs by juniors Alyssa Gonsalez and Celeste Borboa.
Gonsalez’s shot over the right field fence gave Sunnyside a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the first inning, quickly answering West Point’s three runs in the top of the inning behind bunts and taking advantage of a wild pitch and an error.
The home run also landed near Gonsalez’s grandfather, who kept the ball as a memento.
“It was a really big moment for me … our seniors, this is their last home game,” Gonsalez said. “My girls did their job. They got on base. Being in the four hole (cleanup spot), you’ve got to produce. No matter what the situation is, you’ve got to find a way to move the runners and get yourself on.
“I saw the outside pitch coming. I was thinking, ‘Just go with the pitch. Get your girls in.’ That’s all you can really do. I hit it over. I hit it to my grandpa, so that really meant a lot to me. I’m glad he was here to watch me.”
Alyssa Gonsalez hit a pivotal three-run home run in the first inning that gave Sunnyside a 4-3 lead after Avondale West Point rallied for three runs to open the game. Making the home run more special: the ball landed near her grandfather beyond the right field fence. He retrieved… pic.twitter.com/3UoSfW8j7J
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 30, 2026
Rosthenhausler hit an RBI single before Gonsalez’s home run, her third of the season.
After West Point tied the game at 4 in the top of the third, Sunnyside answered immediately again with Borboa’s three-run blast in the bottom of the inning, also her third home run of the season.
The lead increased to 9-4 in the bottom of the third inning on No. 9 hitter Ariciana Puig‘s two-run single, plating Noelani Martinez and Pacho, both of whom singled.
It appeared West Point could cut well into Sunnyside’s lead with its first two batters reaching base in the fifth and sixth innings, but Rosthenhausler yielded just one run on a fielder’s choice ground out. She struck out three straight batters to end the threat in the fifth and got three consecutive outs to complete the sixth.
“The first inning was a little rough for us, but as each inning went on, I started hitting more location, hitting the spots, knowing what the umpire didn’t like, knowing what each batter did the last time up — knowing how to pitch to them,” Rosthenhausler said. “I would say, definitely, after each at-bat, I know what to throw to them.
“It makes me stronger as the game goes on.”
She tied her season-high total of 12 strikeouts, matching her performance in a 4-2 win over Walden Grove last week. In her string of six straight wins in the circle, Rosthenhausler has allowed only five earned runs over 31 innings (1.67 ERA) and has struck out 51 while walking just 11.
The New Mexico Highlands commit is up to 287 strikeouts in her Sunnyside career.
“She did what had to be done,” Carbajal said of Rosthenhausler’s performance against West Point. “That helps us a lot, and we had some big home runs by Celeste and Alyssa. That helped out a lot there, too.
“We left a lot on base (seven), though. With these other bigger teams, it’s going to be a challenge, but we’re ready for it.”
The strong bond the Sunnyside players have, rallying around a talented ace like Rosthenhausler, will make it difficult for those bigger teams to deal with what the Blue Devils have in store.
“These girls, I’ve played with these girls since I was about 10 years old,” Gonsalez said. “They all hold a very, very special place in my heart.
“Being able to come through for them, it really meant a lot to me to show them I will always have their back no matter what.”
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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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