Southern Arizona has such a closely knit softball community, matchups against prior allegiances in high school always happens.
Club teammates go against each other on opposing teams all the time.
On Monday night at 6 at Hillenbrand Stadium, a unique reunion will exist when No. 2 Mica Mountain plays No. 1 Salpointe for the 4A championship.
Krista Martinez, a former Salpointe standout who was part of three state championship teams, has helped her father Jim coach Mica Mountain in her dad’s first season as head coach of the Thunderbolts.
“My daughter actually played for Coach Trish (Tricia Sztan) at Salpointe, and we’re friends with them,” Jim Martinez said after his team beat Surprise Paradise Honors 3-2 on Friday on a walk-off RBI single by sophomore Caeli Shellenbarger in the bottom of the seventh.
Krista went on to join Arizona as a walk-on in 2024.
Interesting twist for Mica Mountain’s 4A state championship game against Salpointe on Monday night at 6 at Hillenbrand Stadium – former Lancer standout Krista Martinez, who went on to play at Hillenbrand with Arizona, is a coach at Mica Mountain as part of her father Jim… pic.twitter.com/dPitR90B5E
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 16, 2026
When the Thunderbolts were in their outfield huddle after Friday’s game, Krista jumped into the middle of them and openly celebrated. “We’re going to state!” she exclaimed.
The matchup between the upstart Thunderbolts — playing in their first state championship game at 29-4 — and the Lancers is the third this season with Salpointe trying to go for the sweep on Monday.
“They’ve gotten us a couple of times this year (scores of 9-0 and 2-0 in nine innings), so it’s bittersweet because we have such wonderful memories of my daughter playing there, but also we’re very, very excited to be in that game,” Jim Martinez said.
“We started our season with a goal of a state championship. We kind of preach to them that it’s not to get there, it’s to win.”
Jim Martinez, former Arizona Storm coach who had success at national-level tournaments, is leading Mica Mountain into its first 4A state championship appearance in his first year as a head coach at the high school level. He is instantly one of the best high school softball… pic.twitter.com/kljgvSgH2F
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 16, 2026
Mica Mountain, in its fifth season since the Vail school opened, has finally got there to a championship game after previous coach Steve Garcia got the program off to a competitive start.
The Thunderbolts were eliminated in the 4A semifinal round by Salpointe the last two seasons. They were in opposite ends of the bracket this time as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams.
“It feels amazing,” senior ace Acelynn-Rose Heston said about getting over the hump to the title game. “I think the team that we have we can really make it far to state, and I think we’re going to do really good.
“During the season (against Salpointe), it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go, but I think they should be ready because we’re coming out.”
Shellenbarger’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh against Paradise Honors was set up by the way Heston pitched late, putting Mica Mountain in a position to win at the plate in dramatic fashion.
She struck out eight of the last 10 batters she faced, including striking out the side in the top of the seventh. That served as momentum for Mica Mountain heading to the bottom of the inning.
“You could see when the game got tough, she got tougher,” Jim Martinez said. “We call her a bulldog. She’s just a competitor and she wants the ball when the game’s on the line. Very, very proud of her.”
Mica Mountain senior ace Acelynn-Rose Heston got stronger as the game went on against Paradise Honors in the 4A semifinal round. She struck out eight of the last 10 batters she faced, including striking out the side in the top of the seventh in the 3-2 win. pic.twitter.com/XAJ8ozmgvu
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 16, 2026
Heston (22-4) finished with a three-hitter, allowing one earned run and no walks. She finished with 14 strikeouts, which tied her season high (matching a Feb. 27 game against Winslow).
“I think just going into the bullpen throughout the week, just been trying to hit my spots more and get better mentally focused,” Heston said. “(I am) always being on point with every pitch.”
She is 64-25 in her four-year varsity career, all as a starter, with an ERA of 2.19 in 572 2/3 innings. She has 743 strikeouts and only 107 walks in her career.
She has not signed with a college and plans to attend Arizona as a student.
“I think it’s going to be amazing; it’s going to be really fun,” she said about the opportunity to play at Hillenbrand Stadium for the first time. “I’m really excited.”
Mica Mountain sophomore 3B Caeli Shellenbarger, who her coach Jim Martinez said is a D1 prospect, came through with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the seventh to give the Thunderbolts a 3-2 win over Paradise Honors in the 4A semifinal matchup. pic.twitter.com/bcrH33bgMh
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 16, 2026
The teams each scored a run in the first inning — Paradise Honors on a sacrifice fly and Mica Mountain on bases-loaded walk by Regan Sutterly — and Mica Mountain took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning but Paradise Honors responded with a run in the top of the fifth.
Emma Pedrique hit an RBI double, scoring Nicole Sandison, who walked to lead off the fourth.
Paradise Honors reliever Charlee Glenn and Heston became engaged in a pitcher’s duel until Mica Mountain’s game-winning rally in the bottom of the seventh.
Shaylee Fuell led off with an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error.
After a ground out and line out to right field, Shellenbarger, a sophomore, came to the plate. On the first pitch, she lined a single to the gap in right-center field and Fuell ran home from second base with a second to spare for the victory.
MICA MOUNTAIN WINS!
Caeli Shellenbarger’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh gives the Thunderbolts a 3-2 win over Paradise Honors.
Mica Mountain will play rival Salpointe for the 4A state championship on Monday at Hillenbrand Stadium at 6 p.m. pic.twitter.com/utcyeOJP30— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 16, 2026
When asked if it was the biggest hit of her young career, she mentioned, “No, I’ve had a bigger hit (in club ball) … grand slam, you know?”
It’s not cockiness but a supreme air of confidence, gathered from all those travel-ball days.
“I was pretty happy,” Shellenbarger said of the game-winning hit. “I did not know that was going to happen. I just decided to lock in and that happened.”
Jim Martinez went so far as to mention Shellenbarger is a D1 prospect, and that’s saying something because of his background of having national-level success as a coach in the Arizona Storm club program.
She is batting .495 (48 of 97) with four home runs, nine doubles, three triples and 49 RBIs.
“Caeli has been our most consistent hitter all year average-wise and she has good power,” he said. “(After the second out of the seventh), I called a timeout and told (Shellenbarger), ‘Just have confidence. Take a breath. You’ve been our best.’
“She got a big smile on her face, and she came through. I’m very excited for her. … I’ve been around a lot of kids, I think she’s a Division 1 hitter. Very, very athletic at third base and can play outfield.”
Whereas Shellenbarger is using her club experience as a way to strengthen her skills with Mica Mountain, Jim Martinez is thriving in his first season as a head coach at the high school level after a long run with Arizona Storm that is based in Phoenix.
“It’s just so exciting because it is a different realm over club ball,” he said about having the opportunity to coach in a state championship game. “The grind of club ball is very, very different than the grind of high school. High school can be a different grind because it’s day in and day out.
“I’m really happy. I’ve coached some games there (at Hillenbrand) with club ball. I’ve been with Krista on the field during warmups. I’m excited to see our young kids who have not had the experience to be at Hillenbrand. Any kid who plays softball in Tucson understands the history there, so I’m sure their eyes are going to get pretty big when we step out there, but they’ll be ready to compete.”
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