2017 softball season commences today
A look at each of the area’s teams
The 2017 high school softball season gets underway today with a game between Yuma High and Kofa.
Cibola, San Luis, Gila Ridge and Yuma Catholic also all get underway later this week with out-of-town, non-AIA tournaments before officially opening the regular season next week.
Antelope and San Pasqual will open against each other on Friday.
Here’s a look at each of the area’s teams:
Cibola Raiders 6A Southern
• Coach: Shelly Baumann • AIA-opener: Feb. 28 at Gila Ridge
• Last season: Cibola went 18-0 last regular season with an average margin of victory of nearly 13 runs per game. Ten of its 11 local victories — all but an 8-2 win at Gila Ridge on March 23 — came by 10 runs or more. As the top overall seed in the Division III state tournament, the Raiders reached the semifinals before falling to No. 5 Payson, 1-0.
• Recent program history: Cibola has qualified for state eight of the past nine seasons. Last year’s semifinal run was the Raiders’ furthest in that time.
• Of the eight Cibola players to earn Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club all-region recognition a year ago, three are back: junior SS Nicole Villa, senior P/1B Madison Sierra and junior 2B Kamryn Moctezuma.
Villa, the reigning Yuma Sun POY, led Cibola in batting average (.590), RBIs (49) and extra-base hits (22), while Moctezuma batted .450 with 36 RBIs out of the threehole.. Sierra led the area in wins (19) and strikeouts (111), as well as earned run average (1.18), despite splitting pitching duties with since-graduated Nadia Hernandez.
Baumann said that Sierra, who is also a dangerous hitter (.411, 39 RBIs, 5 HRs), is very much ready to take on the role of undisputed ace.
“She is working hard,” Baumann said. “And she’s doing all the things that leaders do. She will have most of the innings.”
• Junior C Ela Henry (.373, 28 RBIs) is Cibola’s only other returning starter. Sophomore OF Cielo Echols (.514 in 35 at-bats), junior Hailey Oros (.318 in 22 at-bats) and senior Amanda Ammons also have varsity experience.
Baumann acknowledged that there’s been a lot more “teaching and learning” going on in practices than there was this time a year ago, when the Raiders welcomed back their entire 2015 lineup and were loaded with third- and fourth-year starters.
While this team has a few of those, too — Sierra is a fourth-year, Villa and Moctezuma third-years — it is still somewhat on the younger side, though with Cibola sometimes that can just mean that the next wave of talent has arrived. Freshmen Angela Oros, Jasmine Orozco and Christina Robles are all potential differencemakers, according to Baumann.
Former Kofa pitcher/first baseman Jannay Jones, a 2015 all-region selection as a freshman, is another noteworthy addition for Cibola, though she won’t be eligible to play in games until the season’s second half due to transfer rules.
Kofa Kings 6A Southern
• Coach: Stephanie Carrasco (2nd season)
• AIA-opener: Today at Yuma High
• Last season: Kofa snuck into the Division III state tournament, where it lost 6-5 to No. 5 Payson in the first round, as the No. 28 seed after going 9-9 in the regular season. Locally, the Kings swept Yuma High/San Luis and were swept by Cibola/ Gila Ridge.
• Recent program history: Last year’s state appearance was the Kings’ fourth straight, though they haven’t won a postseason game since 2011.
• Kofa returns all but one player from last year’s team, which was incredibly sophomore-heavy. Now-juniors Chloe Garcia, Sam Morales, Alyssa Sergent and Nylze Salazar are the headliners.
Garcia led the way offensively with a .400 batting average and 23 RBIs, while Salazar (.367, team-high 12 extra-base hits) and Sergent (.353, 16 RBIs) were the Kings’ two other above-.300 hitters. Morales (.298, 10 RBIs) returns as the team’s top pitcher.
• Carrasco pointed out that last year’s team didn’t start playing up to its potential until the very end of the season, perhaps a product of its youth. The Kings lost seven of eight games during one mid-season stretch, yet went out with a near-upset of eventual Division III runner-up Payson — the same team that went on to oust Cibola in the semis — at state.
“I think with the way we finished, we showed that we’re not somebody to take lightly,” Carrasco said.
San Luis Sidewinders 6A Southern
• Coach: Greg Laguna • AIA-opener: March 3 at Gila Ridge • Last season: San Luis went 3-15 in AIA games with wins over Gila Bend (14-8), Salome (22-5) and Glendale (14-12). In 11 games versus local opponents, the Sidewinders were outscored 20040 — though they did have one close call against Yuma High (a 14-12 defeat).
• Recent program history: Over the last six regular seasons, San Luis is 9-98 overall and 0-70 versus fellow YUHSD opponents — with all but five of those YUHSD losses coming by at least 10 runs.
• The Sidewinders return five starters from last year’s team, most notably their top three hitters in junior SS Doraddy Pulido (.500, 13 RBIs), junior 2B Katia Sandoval (.472, 19 RBIs) and senior OF Fabriely Bobadilla (.388, 6 RBIs).
• Laguna named junior Berenice Jaime, who can play wherever, and sophomore Kiabeth Soto, who is expected to pitch, as two key newcomers to the team.
• Despite losing a lot of seniors off last year’s roster (eight), key players are back at key positions, meaning the Sidewinders expect to take another step forward rather than any sort of step back.
Gila Ridge Hawks 4A Southwest
• Coach: liard
• AIA-opener: Feb. 28 vs. Cibola • Last season: Gila Ridge qualified for the Division III state tournament, where it lost in the first round to No. 15 Safford, as the No. 18 seed after going 10-8 in the regular season (8-3 locally, with its only losses coming to Cibola).
• Recent program history: The Hawks have qualified for state three times in program history, but never twice in a row.
• The Hawks are led by two fourth-year starters in OF Aylin Campa and INF Yassiel Lazo, both of whom are all-region selections a year ago. Campa batted .551 with 22 RBIs and 13 extra-
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