Sabino improved to 22-3 overall and 11-1 in power-ranking games after the No. 1 ranked Sabercats went on the road to defeat No. 3 Valley Christian 10-0 on Tuesday to help set the tone with the 3A Conference playoffs approaching quickly. The three losses on the Sabino ledger all came to 4A powers No. 1 Salpointe, No. 5 Paradise Honors and No. 8 Canyon del Oro. The victory at Valley Christian came one week after the Sabercats beat No. 2 Empire 2-1 to take control of the 3A South Region as well as the 3A Conference.

Despite the loss, Valley Christian (10-1) is putting together one of the best seasons in program history since losing to San Manuel in extra innings to claim second place in the old Division IV configuration in 2014. The program is only 1-4 in playoff games since that runner-up finish, including a first-round loss last year. Long-time Valley Christian multi-sport coach Michael Fraley sees the positive progress continuing.

“We've been building the junior high program and having some of those girls come to Valley, girls that have some club experience, which is obviously a big thing for our school,” Fraley said. “Next year we have five club girls coming in that will be freshmen, which will be a nice addition to our program. We are a very young team so I think we are just trying to build a program and at the end of the day, just try and be competitive.”

Sabino junior pitcher Sariah Ferrentino. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

The Trojans gave up multiple unearned runs to Sabino on Tuesday which is uncharacteristic for the team but also part of the process of growth, especially against one of the top programs in the state over the last few years. The Sabercats have five state championship trophies, including two when the program competed at the 4A level, and three from the 3A Conference since 2019, with only the 2020 COVID year stopping them. Each of the three championships came under three different head coaches and current head coach Cindy Cubillas looks to be the first repeat champion for Sabino. Cubillas, and her staff, were named the Region IV Coaching Staff of the Year by the NFCA last year after posting a 32-3 record. Still, how does a team focus after big wins with the playoffs on the horizon?

“We talked a lot about staying focused and former University of Arizona coach Stacy Iverson came and talked to our girls on what it means to be a champion,” Cubillas said. “One of the things that she told them was to be were your feet are, we don't need to be looking further ahead. It's about hurdles. We are looking for the next hurdle. We knew starting the season that we were going to have obstacles to overcome and we looked at our schedule and knew it was a tough schedule so we're just trying to go game by game and prepare from there.”

The Valley Christian Trojans were one of those hurdles on a very difficult schedule and the team scored two runs in the top of the first and three more in the second to put up a 5-0 lead with only one of those being earned.

“We know against good teams that we just can't make mistakes and we gave them two mistakes in the first inning cost us two runs and then we made one in the second and we are down early,” Fraley added. “I told the girls at the beginning of practice yesterday that even if we're down early, you have to still keep fighting and we didn't have our best effort today. Teams like Sabino, they're going to hit good pitching and in games like this, let's go compete. That's how you build a program.”

Sabino freshman Lilly Mann led the charge by going 2-3 with a double and three RBI. Renee Williams went 2-3 with a double and an RBI and Gianna Pancost had a double. Junior pitcher Sariah Ferrentino got the start for the Sabercats and sophomore Avery Nielson took the circle in the third inning. The Trojans left 10 runners on base and Ferrentino and Nielson combined for nine strikeouts to get out of multiple scoring situations for the Trojans.

Bree Hanzal. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

For Valley Christian, Kat Hanson and Addi Ballantyne picked up singles and Caymen Ferber reached on three walks. Bree Hanzal got the start and Hanson finished the last two innings for the Trojans.

"Our goal is to try to win the region and try to make it further than we did in the playoffs last year and we're on the path to do that,” Fraley added. “It's good to see competition like this to show how far we need to go to be able to compete with stellar programs.”

The Trojans are 4-0 in the 3A South Central Region and No. 21 Coolidge is 5-0. Coolidge will host Valley Christian to end the regular season on April 24. The top two teams in each of the 3A regions will earn a berth to the play-in tournament at a minimum but Valley Christian is playing for a home game in the first round of the state playoffs on April 29. The 3A quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at the Papago Softball Complex and the state championship will be at ASU Stadium on May 13.

“We've got a group of seniors that are trying to carry on the tradition of winning and they're trying to teach the younger girls that are coming up what our tradition is and what our standard is,” Cubillas added.

The Sabercats have four games left in the regular season before another playoff run begins.