Can they do it again?
Falcons aim to hold on to 4A‑II title
by Jason Stone        

CAVE CREEK – Cactus Shadows’ baseball team has been here before.

Entering the 2006 state tournament, the Falcons were just starting to play their best baseball of the season and began the 4A‑Division II tournament as the fifth seed.

Four games later, Cactus Shadows shocked the state to win its first state championship at the 4A level and second in school history after winning a 3A Conference crown in 1999.

Fast forward to 2007 and the Falcons are back at it: They entered state as the No. 5 seed again and began the week alive in the quarterfinals.

Cactus Shadows (22‑8) was scheduled to play at region‑foe Sunnyslope, the tournament’s fourth seed, in the quarterfinals May 8. Results of the game were unavailable at press time. Sunnyslope won two of the three meetings in the regular season, including two straight the final week of the season that ultimately determined which team got the higher seed for state.

The winner of the game faced a semifinal matchup May 11 against the winner of Notre Dame and Arcadia.

If the Falcons end up facing Notre Dame, not only would Cactus Shadows return to the Final Four at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for the second straight year, the team will get a chance to stage revenge against Notre Dame in the biggest game of the year.

Notre Dame won the three contests against Cactus Shadows this season by a combined score of 32‑6.

Cactus Shadows reached the quarterfinals May 5 with a 13‑5 rout of No. 12‑seed Page in the first round.

Chris Manship has been on a tear recently and has vaulted his batting average to a team leading .537, passed Jerome Pena in RBIs to lead the team (49) and has tied Pena for the team lead in home runs with eight.

Pena lead the team in pitching wins (6‑1 record) and ERA (2.83).