You can learn a lot in five hours and four games’ worth of softball during the 5A Division I state tournament (also known as one of the most wonderful times of the year).
For example:
There were grumblings about the chilly weather Thursday night, and if you were one of them, zip it. Perhaps you forgot it was 105 degrees during the first weekend of the tournament last year.
How dominant was Stephanie Janes during her no-hitter against Mesa? Senior catcher Sara Sandoval struck out three times against Janes for (unofficially) the second time in her high school career. The same Sara Sandoval who was intentionally walked four times by Desert Mountain in the first round of the tournament (and for good reason).
Speaking of the Jackrabbits, they should be proud for making the state tournament. It’s the first time in a while Mesa had a collection of true softball players, led by Sandoval and Bri Robles.
Robles, by the way, pitched the last two tournament games - including a victory against Mesa Mountain View - with a broken toe on her left foot.
And speaking of the Wolves, it was a tough way to end the season with a loss to Desert Valley Region partner Glendale Mountain Ridge. It’s hard to beat a team four times, and both Mountain Ridge coach and Xavier coach Bobby Pena were grousing about playing each other so many times. And they were the winning teams.
Perish the thought that Phoenix St. Mary’s pitcher Dallas Escobedo isn’t 100 percent because of a lingering bruise on her hand after being hit by a pitch weeks ago. Gilbert Highland didn’t want to hear about it, let alone face it. Escobedo had 17 strikeouts in a 3-1 win.
Neither the Knights nor Hawks were particularly pleased with the umpiring following a series of wacky, hard-to-describe plays which proved to be the difference, and to Highland coach Ben Leeson’s credit, he refused to go down that road afterward. Instead, he talked about a couple miscues on defense and a couple early chances to score on Escobedo.
Does St. Mary’s really need five assistant coaches? The Knights dugout looks like the I-10/202 stack at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday.
Closed circuit to the AIA: Stop scheduling games 90 minutes apart from one another, as Thursday’s 5:30 and 7 p.m. start times indicate on the brackets. Games take two hours this time of year, plus 30 minutes or so for the next teams to warm up. Not difficult.
Check back for more regularly during the next 10 days. There’s always something going on during tournament time.
don’t be a hater, if St.Mary’s wants five coaches why can”t they have them.