Badgers Hosting Play-In Games as Bears, Cougars Hit The Road

Photo: Lilly James is focused on a line drive right to her

Varsity Softball

The Prescott Badgers closed out the regular season on Monday with a 23-0 win at Westview. The game was over after four innings and resulted with ten Badgers getting hits. 

Amilyn Zahn and Kaylin Pinarelli both went a perfect five for five with four RBIs each.  Zahn and Lilly James each had two doubles with James picking up a pair of RBIs. Belle Mazon knocked in three with a pair of singles. Madison Ballou threw a one hitter and struck out seven with no walks. 

Prescott hopes the big bats will carry over into their first post season game in two years. The Badgers missed out on the playoffs last season and are hoping to send the retiring coach Randall Bryan out with a strong finish.

Bradshaw Mountain also made the play-in round but will travel to Thunderbird. Other Grand Canyon Region teams to make the play-in round are Coconino, Mohave, and  Lee Williams.

Region champion Flagstaff will wait to see who they will face in a first round game on Saturday. 

DIVISION 4A PLAY-IN GAMES SCHEDULE- Wednesday at 4pm

#18 Walden Grove (10-13) at #15 Prescott (16-10)

#22 Bradshaw Mountain (8-13)  at #11 Thunderbird (17-6)

#17 Eastmark (11-10) at #16 Combs (18-9)

#19 Douglas (16-8) at #14 Mohave (16-13)

#20 Lee Williams (9-13) at #13 Cactus (17-9)

#21 Greenway (10-11) at #12 Poston Butte (17-9)

#23 Saguaro (10-15) at #10 Coconino  (19-7)

#24 Deer Valley (12-13)  at #9 Crismon (24-6)

Varsity Baseball

The Prescott Badgers closed out the regular season with a 5-0 setback to the #3 ALA-Gilbert North Eagles. Prescott had won six out of their last seven before being shutout for just the second time this season.

Photo: Nick Martin waits on the ball as Tate Clarkson slides into second base

The Badgers will host the Thunderbird Titans who have won five straight. The Titans finished second behind Paradise Honors in the Skyline Region losing the tie breaker despite splitting the two meetings between the teams. This will be the second time these teams have met this season. Back on March 18, the Badgers beat the Titans 7-5 in the Greenway Festival Tournament. Matt Hepperle was one hit away from hitting for the cycle in that game as both he and Nick Martin had a triple. Travis Gates also had a good day at the plate reaching base all four times.

Bradshaw Mountain picked up the final spot just ahead of the Coconino Panthers despite having an overall losing record. The Bears were (3-11) when they swept Prescott, then going on to win 8 out of their last 11 games. They enter the game at Ironwood Ridge winning three in a row. The Knighthawks finished third in the Kino Region losing their final regular season game 13-3 to Salpointe Catholic.

Despite winning the Grand Canyon Region, Flagstaff was not able to escape having to play in the play-in game round. The Eagles ranked #10 get to host Deer Valley. 

The winners will move on to play in the first round on Saturday with the bracket being announced beginning at 3:30pm.

DIVISION 4A PLAY-IN GAMES SCHEDULE- Wednesday at 4pm

#19 Thunderbird (22-6) at #14 Prescott (17-9)

#24 Bradshaw Mountain (11-14) at #9 Ironwood Ridge (20-6)

#23 Deer Valley (15-9) at #10 Flagstaff (17-7)

#22 Mesquite (8-17) at #11 Estrella Foothills (23-5)

#21 Arcadia (9-14) at #12 Yuma (16-8)

#20 Mica Mountain (10-15) at #13 ALA-Queen Creek (13-13)

#18 Paradise Honors (20-5) at #15 St. Mary’s (14-7)

#17 Rio Rico (16-15) at #16 Cholla (11-7)

The Trinity Christian Warriors won their quarterfinal game 6-2 over Flagstaff Christian in the CAA (Canyon Athletic Association) playoffs. The #3 Warriors (11-3) move onto the semifinals and will face #2 A Plus Charter of Maricopa (14-1), today at 7:00pm on the campus of Maricopa Institute of Technology campus located at 3900 S 55th Ave., Phoenix.

The other semifinal game will be between Holy Family Academy (14-0) vs. Ajo (8-5) will play the first game beginning at 4pm. 

CAA DIVISION 1 STATE PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD-QUARTERFINALS

Trinity Christian 6, Flagstaff Christian 2

A Plus Charter Maricopa 11, Thunderbird Adventist 1

Ajo 6, Wickenburg Christian 4

Holy Family Academy 13, Tri City Christian 2

The Chino Valley Cougars made the Play-In Round coming in at #18. The Cougars will travel to face #15 Thatcher today at 4pm. This will be the first playoff game for Chino Valley since 2022 and also the last winning season for the Cougars when they ended at (13-12).

DIVISION 3A PLAY-IN GAMES SCHEDULE-Wednesday 4pm

#18 Chino Valley (13-11) at #15 Thatcher (9-10)

#24 Payson (11-11) at #9 Benjamin Franklin (15-7)

#23 Tonopah Valley (11-9) at #10 Empire (17-9)

#22 Blue Ridge (13-12) at #11 Florence (19-7)

#21 Chinle (19-8) at #12 Snowflake (14-8)

#20 ALA-Mesa North (10-11) at #13 Kingman (14-10)

#19 Page (18-9) at #14 ALA-West Foothills (16-10)

#17 Pusch Ridge (17-10) at #16 Coolidge (8-11)