Quartet of area teams lose in playoffs

It was a rough day for the area baseball and softball teams, with the four remaining teams in the playoffs losing by a composite score of 30-5 on Friday.

Yuma High and Cibola each lost 5A-II elimination bracket quarterfinals. The Raiders lost 6-1 to Glendale-Deer Valley, while the Criminals lost to Avondale-La Joya 5-0. The Yuma Catholic baseball team lost 4-2 to Bourgade Catholic in the single elimination 2A bracket, and a shorthanded San Pasqual team lost 15-2 to Gila Bend, which ran its record to 25-2 on the year.

The Criminals were stymied by Myleena Torres, who on Saturday pitched La Joya to a 3-0 win over Cibola in the opening round of the playoffs. On Friday, Ramirez was just as sharp.

Neither team scored a run until La Joya notched two in the sixth inning and tallied three unearned runs in the seventh.

Isabel Villalobos picked up the loss after scattering six hits and striking out three. The three La Joya runs in the seventh came with two outs after Villalobos gave up a walk and a single before an error loaded the bases. The next batter launched a hit over an outfielder and drove in all the runners.

Yuma High was led at the plate by Ivanna Aguirre and Marissa Madrigal, who were both 2-for-3. The Criminals left seven runners on base.

"We missed some opportunities and couldn't come up with a big hit when we needed it," Yuma coach Liz Huyck said. "It's disappointing to end the year on a loss, but I'm proud of this team and am focused on the positives we accomplished."

Cibola will also make the long ride back from Sandra Day O'Connor High in Phoenix, losing to a Deer Valley squad with two NCAA Division I college recruits.

Deer Valley had just one hit in the first inning, but scored two on two Cibola errors and a past ball. In the second, Northwestern recruit, starting pitcher and leadoff hitter Jenny Taylor blasted a home run off Cibola starter Sarah Ray.

"I don't know if it was jitters or what," Cibola coach Shelly Baumann said. "I'm not sure what it was."

In the fourth, Baumann called for an intentional walk on Taylor, then two batters later intentionally walked Lauren Haeger - who has signed with Florida. It was for naught as the cleanup hitter hit a three-run homer to put Deer Valley up 6-0.

Baumann said it was an easy choice to walk the two Deer Valley stars.

"If you had seen them stroke the ball, no (it wasn't hard)," Baumann said. "Things were working out, even with us putting them on."

Mariah Caro scored on a Alex Roman single in the sixth for the only Raider run.

Ray allowed four earned runs in six innings, allowing six hits and striking out six. She allowed five walks, all intentional.

On the baseball side, Yuma Catholic lost by two runs for the second time this year to Bourgade, having lost 7-5 last month.

Starter Matt Koppinger gave up four first-inning runs, but only two were earned. He didn't allow another run the rest of the game, striking out five and walking one.

"It was a rough start," coach Kurt Foppe said. "But our guys really settled down. We just couldn't get anything going until too late."

The Shamrocks scored one in the sixth and one in the seventh. They brought the tying run to the plate after Brendan Evans singled home Rocky Rutherford and stole second, but couldn't finish the comeback.

The Shamrocks won their opener but lost to Bourgade, which had a first round bye.

The Warriors went one-and-done, losing to the Gila Monsters.

San Pasqual was missing two starters who were attending the funeral of a former classmate.

"These guys put up with a lot of adversity and adjusted well," coach Faron Owl said "I'm so proud of this team and we kept our heads up through everything."

The Warriors went through three pitchers in the game, but kept Gila Bend from scoring the bulk of it runs early. The Gila Monsters scored three runs after two innings before putting together big innings for the rest of the contest.

Victor Robles had two hits and drove in the Warriors first run in the third inning when he singled home Paul Weisman, who reached base on a double. Jaime Marquez drove in the other San Pasqual run in the fourth inning when he singled home Alex Marquez, who was walked earlier in the inning. Aaron Lucero had the only other hit for the Warriors.

Denise Orozco, a softball player filling in, was hitless in the game but did not make an error playing right field.