Familiar faces abound as state softball final fours commence

May 9, 2012 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Sixteen teams remain in the D-I through D-IV state softball tournaments and half played for a title last year. With state titles pared from seven to four this season, there is bound to be a little more disappointment with final outcomes.

Here are the final fours: D-I -- Mountain Ridge, Red Mountain, Basha and Horizon; D-II -- Ironwood Ridge, Sunrise Mountain, Canyon del Oro and Sabino; D-III -- Payson, Bourgade, Winslow and Estrella Foothills; D-IV -- Pusch Ridge, Northwest Christian, St. Johns and St. David.

And here are how these 16 schools fared last year in state tournament play:

Three of 16 were state champs in 2011 -- Red Mountain (5A-I), Canyon del Oro (4A-1) and Estrella Foothills (3A). Five were runners-up -- Basha (5A-I), Ironwood Ridge (5A-II), Winslow (3A), Pusch Ridge (2A) and St. David (1A).

The other eight 2012 final-four schools qualified for state with lesser outcomes. Mountain Ridge and Horizon were in the final six of 5A-I and 5A-II, respectively. Bourgade reached the 2A semifinals. Sunrise Mountain (4A-I), St. Johns (2A) and Northwest Christian (2A) were quarterfinalists.  Payson (3A) and Sabino (4A-I) were eliminated in the first round.

As for the rest of the 2012 postseason, Division I and Division II slice their fields to three teams Wednesday May 9 at 6:30 at Rose Mofford. Basha and Horizon play the D-I  elimination game and Red Mountain and Mountain Ridge the winners' bracket game.  Ironwood Ridge and Sunrise Mountain have the D-II winner's bracket game at 6:30 p.m. and Canyon del Oro and Sabino the elimination game at 6:30 p.m. at Cherry Field in Tucson.

D-I and D-II have one more elimination game each on Friday May 10 at Rose Mofford. The Red Mountain-Mountain Ridge loser plays the Basha-Horizon winner at 7:30 p.m. The D-II elimination game will feature the Ironwood Ridge-Sunrise Mountain loser against the Canyon del Oro-Sabino winner at 5:30 p.m. D-I and D-II title games are Monday at ASU's Farrington Stadium. The D-II final is at 5:30 p.m. and the D-I final at 7:30 p.m.

Division III and IV contest their semifinals on Friday May 11 at  Rose Mofford. Payson and Bourgade face off at 5:30 p.m. and Estrella Foothills and Winslow at 7:30 p.m. The D-IV matchups are Pusch Ridge and Northwest Christian at 5:30 p.m. and St. Johns and St. David at 7:30 p.m. The D-IV final is at Rose Mofford on Saturday May 12 at  6 p.m and the D-IV final follows at 8 p.m.