Kofa, San Luis set for first-round matchups

Cibola went on a late-season surge, winning four straight - including two straight against Gila Valley Region Champion Kofa - to put itself in a prime spot to make the Class 5A Division II State Baseball Playoffs.

But the Raiders' season ended with a game they didn't play.

When Ironwood Ridge won at Tucson Thursday, an improbable win that put Ironwood into the playoffs and bumped out Cibola.

The Nighthawks topped Tucson 16-9, catapulting them two spots to No. 15 and dropping Cibola to No. 17. The Raiders had risen to No. 16 after seemingly have their season end after a four-game losing streak and stretch of nine losses in 12 games.

Tucson finished 12-6 and at the No. 11 spot in 5A-I, and had already beaten Ironwood Ridge 6-2. But the Nighthawks pulled off the upset, making the Raiders at 10-9 the only above .500 team to miss the playoffs in D-II.

It's the second straight year Cibola missed the playoffs after nine straight years in under coach Duane Evans, who said he was happy with the way his team played down the stretch.

"I'm proud of the kids because we could have quit at anytime," Evans said. "We wanted to go out and play the best we could and leave the rest to the situation. ... It was just one of those tough breaks for us. It's disappointing, the kids at school today were disappointed but we knew what was in front of us and that there was a possibility the other team would win and we'd be finished."

The Raiders endured a rough stretch in the middle of the season, losing four straight, including one to Gila Ridge, which finished the year 2-16.

But Evans said it wasn't that loss in particular that cost more than any other loss.

"I just think they played well that day and we didn't capitalize and it's just one of those unfortunate situations," Evans said. "You can look back and stress yourself but there are games you're supposed to win that you don't, but that's baseball. That's why you go out and play every day."

But while the Raiders didn't make the playoffs, the No. 8 Kings are hosting a first-round game for the second straight year - and again hosting against a team they've already beaten. Last year it was region foe San Luis that beat the Kings in the first round of the double-elimination tournament. The Kings look for a better result against No. 9 Marcos de Niza, who Kofa beat 7-5 earlier this year in Yuma.

Kofa coach Richy Leon said he expects Claudio Valencia (2-1, 3.30 ERA, four saves) to get the start in the game. No. 1 starter Sergio Sanchez is injured and is unlikely to pitch or bat against the Padres. Sanchez hit .463, second on the team, and had a team-best four home runs and 29 RBI.

Even without Sanchez, Leon said the Kings are optimistic heading into the postseason.

"We feel pretty good," Leon said. "We haven't had success at the end against Cibola, but we played OK and we'll bounce back. We're pretty happy in our position."

Today's game against the Padres (9-9) starts at 11 a.m., with the Kings (13-6) hoping for better success than they had closing the year against the Raiders.

"You have to put it behind you and divide the season and say 'Here's a clean slate, everybody's 0-0, and it's about who gets hot at the very end,'" Leon said. "We put ourselves in a position to be playing Saturday, and now we need the kids to go out there and do what they've done all season."

San Luis (13-6), meanwhile, will look for a similar result as the No. 10 Sidewinders head to Tucson to face No. 7 Sunnyside (12-6) at 11 a.m. today.

The Sidewinders could have secured a home game with a win Thursday against Yuma High - whom they'd beaten twice already - but lost 4-0 to the Criminals, shutout for the first time this season by Ricardo Quintero.

Coach Cesar Castillo said he wasn't disappointed in the result.

"The guy who threw against us did a great job of shutting us down," Castillo said. "We didn't expect to be shutout, but the kid was on. ... Since we knew we were in it, the intensity just wasn't there. Yuma won the ball game because they cared a little more than we did."

Sergio Portugal (5-0, 2.63 ERA) will get the nod for the Sidewinders. Castillo doesn't know much about Sunnyside other than their tradition, but knows what his team has to do to win.

"If we play defense, I believe we're going to win a ballgame," Castillo said. "Our offense, other than that shutout, has been clicking at the end. We've won six of our last seven games, we're playing the right baseball, and I think we have a good chance of going up to Tucson and coming home with a W."

The winner of the game will face the winner of the No. 2 Pinnacle-No. 15 Ironwood Ridge contest, with the losers of each game playing one another. The Kings-Padres winner will face the winner between No. 1 Desert Ridge and No. 16 Skyline, with the losers playing each other in an elimination game.

The second-round games will be on Tuesday, with winner bracket games at 7 p.m. at Surprise Baseball Stadium and loser bracket games at 4 p.m. at the site of the higher seed.