NORTH
VALLEY – If Sandra Day O’Connor’s softball team is going
to win the 5A‑Division II state championship in
2007, the Eagles will have to do it through the back door.
The
Eagles came in to the state tournament as the No. 3 seed,
but the team found out the hard way May 3 why Sunnyside
is ranked No. 2. Sunnyside topped O’Connor 2‑0 in
a classic game at Rose Mofford Sports Complex to send
the Eagles to the losers’ bracket.
O’Connor
was scheduled to face No. 11‑seed Ironwood on May
8, but the game was played after press time. The winner
of the game would then again face Sunnyside, where they
would have to win twice to advance to the state championship
game.
That
might usually be a tall order for O’Connor (27‑7),
but not out of the question the way the Eagles have played
this season. O’Connor started state with a 12‑1
route of No. 14‑seed (Marana) Mountain View, then
followed it up with a 1‑0 nail‑biting victory
over sixth‑seeded Sunrise Mountain.
Ironwood
came into the elimination game with a first‑round
loss to Sunrise Mountain, followed by losers’ bracket
wins against (Marana) Mountain View, Flowing Wells and
Sunrise Mountain in a rematch.
O’Connor
is trying to break through for its first state title in
its final year at the 5A level. Because of Arizona Interscholastic
Association realignment, the Eagles’ sports teams will
be moving down a classification to 4A‑Division I
next season. A state championship would be the ultimate
send‑off for the team.
In
the other side of the 5A‑Division II bracket, Centennial
rolled through the first week without a loss and will
square off against the survivor of the Desert Mountain‑Paradise
Valley elimination game in the other semifinals. Desert
Mountain entered the tournament as the No. 1‑ranked
team meaning two of the top three teams were facing early
elimination this week.
Boulder
Creek also qualified for the tournament but was eliminated
early. The 15th‑seeded Jaguars fell 10‑0 to
Sunnyside in a first‑round game, then fell 8‑2
to No 7‑seed Peoria in an elimination game.
In
4A‑Division II softball, Cactus Shadows failed to
qualify for this year’s tournament.
