AMSA Transportation Lancer Baseball Classic
Mar. 14-18: Tucson Reid Park Annex
Sabino outlasted Mountain View 8-6 Tuesday in an important Division II game between two teams still looking for an identity. Sabino (3-7 overall, 3-1 in division games) is still rebuilding from the loss of several standouts including Wisconsin leader Kelsey Jenkins while Mountain View (3-5-1, 1-3) is coming off one of the best seasons in recent memory that included a rare trip to the state playoffs.
Six teams are taking part in the D'Eredita Memorial Raven Baseball Invitational held at Empire High School. Each team is scheduled for three games with bracket play scheduled for Saturday.
In addition, softball will be played at the Tucson Badger Invitational at Cherry Field. Pool play starts on Wednesday and the championship is scheduled for Saturday night.
Canyon del Oro defeated Amphitheater 7-2 late Friday night to close out a match that was much closer than the score indicated. The Panthers (2-2) forced CDO (5-1) to the limit on a few singles matches and then played them into the setting sun with three hotly contested doubles matches.
Salpointe improved to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in division play after taking care of Sabino 10-0 in five innings on Thursday. The loss dropped the Sabercats to 1-1 in division games.
Pusch Ridge defeated American Leadership Academy 12-2 Wednesday night to remain perfect on the year. The Lions (7-0) have outscored opponents 92-13 including an incredible 50-2 scoring differential to go 4-0 at the PCDS Softball Desert Classic last week.
As noted by our own Les Willsey, the AIA's Legislative Council adopted pitch-count limits for baseball last Friday, March 4. The new rules for pitching and resting will go into effect February of 2017. The limits are based on guidelines followed by USA Baseball.
The 9th Annual AMSA Transportation Lancer Baseball Classic schedule has been set for next week. Salpointe will host 22 teams including schools from Colorado, California and Oklahoma. Flagstaff and Cesar Chavez will be joining the rest of the teams from Southern Arizona.
Salpointe went undefeated to capture the championship of the TUSD Boy's Volleyball Invitational held Friday and Saturday at Pueblo High School. The Lancers finished 6-0 at the invite, defeating Tucson 2-1 (26-27, 25-20, 15-13) in the final.
Pool play at the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Boy's Volleyball Invitational was held on Friday at Pueblo High School. Sahuaro, Salpointe, Rincon/University and Canyon del Oro earned top seeds for bracket play.
Pool Play got underway Wednesday at the Amphi Panther Invitational. In all, 16 teams will play at five different high schools in Southern Arizona including Walden Grove, Santa Rita, Palo Verde, Catalina and Amphitheater with the championship game scheduled for Saturday at Amphitheater.
The Catalina Foothills boy's tennis team has won 10 state team titles dating back to 1997. It's an incredible run that includes a trip to the final every year since 2005 except for 2012 and 2013. Even then, the Falcons picked things back up and won the last two Division II team championships.
TUSD Boy's Volleyball Tournament
Mar. 4-5: Pueblo High School
Canyon del Oro defeated Ironwood Ridge 7-4 Saturday afternoon to capture the 14th edition of the Dorado Classic. The field included 20 teams including reigning Division I state champion Sandra Day O'Connor.
Canyon del Oro run-ruled Basha 11-1 to open up play at the Dorado Softball Classic held in Marana. The Dorados produced 13 hits including three doubles and a triple in the win over the Bears.
Division II Boys Basketball Quarterfinals
Gila River Arena: Wednesday, Feb. 24
Division II Girls Basketball Quarterfinals
Gila River Arena: Tuesday, Feb. 23
Girl's Division II State Championship
Round 2: Friday, Feb. 19 at Tucson
No. 13 Sahuaro 65, No. 4 Tucson 60
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, Feb. 23 at Gila River Arena
No. 13 Sahuaro vs. No. 5 Mesa, 2:30 p.m.
Boy's Division II State Championship
First Round: Thursday, Feb. 18
No. 10 Catalina Foothills 73, No. 23 Queen Creek 56
Second Round: Saturday, Feb. 20
No. 10 Catalina Foothills at No. 7 Saguaro, 7 p.m.
D-IV Girls Hoops Preview
It's been a generation since Pueblo won 19 regular season games and a lifetime since the Warrior magic was so real one could almost touch it. Such was the case Tuesday night when No. 11 Pueblo defeated No. 22 Flowing Wells 62-48 in the first round of the Division III state playoffs.
A deflection and open net in the 45th minute is all that separated Notre Dame and Salpointe Saturday. Notre Dame forward Lindsay Shipley provided much of the pressure for the Saints in a game where controlling the pace and the ball does not always equal victory. Still, Shipley seemed to always be where the action was, so much so that when fellow sophomore Hannah Osland scored the winning goal, Shipley's name was announced to the crowd.
No. 15 Pueblo and No. 17 Cholla came into the Division III, Section III tournament knowing an at-large state-playoff bid was practically in the bag. The only question would be what team they would play and where and that depended on how the sectional tournament played out.
Tucson extended its season by defeating Salpointe 69-54 in the first game and Catalina Foothills held on to defeat Mountain View 52-42 in the other semifinal.
Sectional tournaments are being played all over the state in preparation for the state playoffs, set to start next Tuesday, Feb. 16. This is what February Frenzy is all about.
1813 articles by Andy Morales
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