(Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

GAME TOTAL: 118

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Santa Rita beat Palo Verde 7-2 Monday night to advance to the semifinal round of the District 12 Little League Baseball championship held at Michael Perry Park. Santa Rita will face Sunnyside Thursday night for a shot at the championship game scheduled for Monday, July 9.

Santa Rita took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third after Hunter Fuell connected on a one-out double and he scored on a wild pitch later in the inning. Shawn Barros made it 2-0 in the fourth after he led off with a double and then went on to score on an error.

Palo Verde tied things up in the bottom half of the fourth on a single by Cruz Leyva and a pinch-hit home run from Lewie Roseberry. Santa Rita pulled ahead for good in the sixth with five more runs, paced by a 3-run shot by Fuell. Fuell finished 2-for-4, Barros batted 3-4 and Noah Rodriguez went 3-3 to lead Santa Rita at the plate.

Leyva batted 2-3 to help lead Palo Verde. Matty Falwell took the mound for Palo Verde and Jayden Falwell took over in the sixth. The young brothers are cousins to former Palo Verde High School state champion pitcher Tyler Fallwell and former Sabino state champion infielder Evan Fallwell.

Barros got the ball for Santa Rita and Rodriguez also saw pitching action.

In District 12 8-10 Baseball action, Sunnyside beat Freedom 20-3 to advance to the championship game scheduled for Thursday, July 5. Sunnyside will play the winner of Freedom and Rincon and the game is set for Anamax Park in Sahuarita. The winner of Freedom/Rincon will have to beat Sunnyside twice in the double-elimination format.

Maggie Morales contributed to the roundup.

Maggie Morales is a senior at the University of Minnesota Crookston where she is a three-time Academic All-American on the softball team. Maggie grew up in Tucson and played softball at Canyon del Oro where she won a state title.

CHAMPION ROLL CALL
D-5 8-10 SOFTBALL: Thornydale
D-5 8-10 BASEBALL: Oro Valley
D-12 8-10 SOFTBALL: Copper Hills
D-5 9-11 BASEBALL: Canyon View
D-5 9-11 SOFTBALL: Marana
D-5 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL: Western
D-5 LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL: Tucson Mountain
D-12 LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL: Sam Xavier
D-12 JUNIOR BASEBALL: Sunnyside

MONDAY, JULY 2

D-12 8-10 BASEBALL
Sunnyside 20, Freedom 3
Rincon 5, San Xavier 4

D-12 9-11 BASEBALL
Copper Hills 10, Santa Rita 3

D-12 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
Santa Rita 7, Palo Verde 2
American 11, Pantano 3
Sunnyside 8, Rincon 4
Copper Hills 8, San Xavier 2

TUESDAY, JULY 3

D-12 8-10 BASEBALL
Freedom vs. Rincon, Anamax 7 p.m.

D-12 9-11 BASEBALL
Rincon vs. Sunnyside, Rincon 6:30 p.m.
Copper Hills vs. Randolph, Rincon 7 p.m.

D-12 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
Rincon vs. American, Perry 6:30 p.m.
Copper Hills vs. Palo Verde, Perry 6:30 p.m.

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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the 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. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com