O’Connor still on fire
by Jason Stone

NORTH VALLEY – Sandra Day O’Connor’s softball team keeps on rolling. The Eagles won three more games last week to keep pace in the state rankings and the region race with two weeks left in the regular season.

O’Connor (21‑5 overall, 8‑1 Northwest Region) whipped Deer Valley (4‑0), North Canyon (19‑1) and Kingman (9‑0) last week to remain No. 3 among 5A‑Division II teams in power            point rankings.

The Eagles also stayed tied with Deer Valley and Mountain Ridge atop the region standings. O’Connor was scheduled to play at Boulder Creek and Goldwater this week before hosting Trevor Browne on April 20.

The region race will likely be decided in the final week when O’Connor hosts both Mountain Ridge (April 24) and Deer Valley (April 26) to finish the regular season. Deer Valley is ranked fifth in 5A‑II rankings, while Mountain Ridge is a 5A‑Division I school.

Boulder Creek earns much‑needed victory

NORTH CANYON – Boulder Creek routed Goldwater 19‑0 April 13 to break a six‑game losing streak. The Jaguars stopped the bleeding on their fading playoff hopes with the victory and entered the week ranked 15th in 5A‑II power points. The top 16 teams at the end of region tournaments qualify for the state playoffs.

The Jaguars (9‑12 overall, 2‑6 region) lost to Mountain Ridge 12‑2 to start the week April 12 but rebounded a day later for the big win over struggling Goldwater. Boulder Creek finishes the season with five straight road games, starting with two this week at Trevor Browne and North Canyon.

Falcons looking for strong finish

CAVE CREEK – Cactus Shadows won one of its three games last week to enter the final two weeks of the season with a 4‑14 overall record.

The Falcons were blanked 3‑0 at Sunnyslope on April 11 before bouncing back a day later for a 7‑4 home win over Washington. Notre Dame then eked out a 10‑9 victory over the Falcons April 13 to finish off the week.

After a non‑region home game against Saguaro this week (April 19), the Falcons finish the season with a game againstBradshaw Mountain and two against Sunnyslope.