San Manuel will be going for their 10th state championship in school history Monday night when they take on Superior in the Division IV title game.

The Miners (23-6) have won the last two championships in a row under head coach Deanne Brewer. Alyssa Cuellar is batting .663 with seven doubles, five triples and nine home runs and Felicia Medina is hitting .583 with 13 doubles, seven triples and six home runs.

Superior (17-5) won a title in 2007 and made it to the quarterfinal round last year where they lost to Ray. With a bit if revenge, the Panthers knocked Ray out of the tournament in quarterfinals this year before taking out top-seeded Phoenix Veritas Prep 1-0 on Saturday to set up the championship game.

San Manuel defeated No. 2 Phoenix Arizona Lutheran 6-1 in their semifinal game on Saturday.

The championship will be played at Farrington Softball Stadium on the campus of Arizona State on Monday at 5:15 p.m.

San Manuel State Championships

1977: 4A (Sheila Baize)

1979: 4A (Sheila Baize)

1980: 4A (Sheila Baize)

1981: 3A (Sheila Baize)

1982: 3A (Sheila Baize)

1990: 3A (Jeff Rupright)

1994: 3A (Jeff Rupright)

2013: D4 (Deanne Brewer)

2014: D4 (Deanne Brewer)

In Division III action, No. 6 Empire (29-5) will be playing No. 1 Payson (34-1) on Monday night at 7:45 p.m. All softball finals will be played at Farrington Softball Stadium.

It appears one of the biggest secrets to the success of the Ravens this year was to avoid their playoff nemesis Goodyear Estrella Foothills.  The Wolves knocked Empire out of the playoffs three years in a row from 2011 to 2013 with the last defeat denying them a spot in the final game.

Empire also had the misfortune of playing eventual state champion Winslow in the quarterfinals last year.  Finally in the title game, the Ravens will have to get past Payson. Coincidently, Empire is the only team to record a win against the Longhorns this year and they did it in the championship of the Wickenburg Wrangler Classic in early March.

Brittany Woolridge (16-1) took the circle against Payson that day and she limited the Longhorns to one run.

Empire defeated No. 10 Nogales 3-2 in the semifinal game, ending the best season recorded by the Apaches (31-15) and the career of standout pitcher Emerald Grijalva.

Payson finished in second place last year.

Finally, Oro Valley Canyon del Oro (31-6) and Tucson Sahuaro (25-9) had another epic playoff battle with the Dorados coming out on top 12-11 in eight innings. The game lasted over three hours and over 30 players were used.

Canyon del Oro started things off with a run in the top of the first inning off of a bases-loaded walk issued to Arianna Felix but Lexy Coons got out of the inning with minimal damage and her offense rewarded her with three runs of their own in the bottom half.

Andie Larkins came up big with two RBI to get the 3-1 lead for the Cougars but that lead would only last until the top of the third. Heather Knight paced the Dorados with a massive two-run shot in the inning and Canyon del Oro took a 5-3 lead into the fourth where they would add three more runs.

Now up 8-3, it looked like the Dorados were on their way to the next round but a bit controversy on a dropped third strike opened the door and the Cougars took advantage and posted three runs to cut the lead down to 8-6.

Larkins took the circle earlier in game and she hit her stride after the fourth and held the Dorados scoreless through the sixth inning.

Randi Longville, Gabbi Blevins and Faith Orton made pitching appearances for the Dorados But Sahuaro came alive in the bottom of the sixth with four runs to take a 10-8 lead.

Jasmine DePasse walked to start the inning off and Jasmin Lopez followed with a single and the Cougars were in business. Ashley Bradford put down a sac bunt to move both runners over and Larkins delivered on a single to right to bring in one run. Lopez attempted to score on the hit and was thrown out at home.

With two outs, Amy Pacheco doubled in Larkins and the game was tied at 8-8. Madison Wiley brought in Pacheco and Sahuaro took the lead and then Danielle Jamieson singled in Wiley.

Down 10-8 with the season on the line, Anya Gonzalez doubled to start the inning off. Larkins picked up a huge strikeout and then a fly ball for two quick outs but an error put Carli Campbell on base.

Knight came up and picked up two strikes but she pounced on the next pitch and doubled in both runners to tie the game at 10-10.

Sahuaro was held scoreless in the bottom of the seventh and the game went to extra innings.

Nene Campos started things off with an infield single. Larkins picked up a strikeout but Monique Castillo reached on an error and then stole base to put two runners in scoring position.

Larkins got another strikeout but AJ Kaiser dropped a single to left, scoring both runners. Sahuaro was able to plate one run in the bottom half but Canyon del Oro held on for the improbable 12-11 victory to advance in the Division II elimination bracket.

The Dorados will play the loser of the game between No. 4 Vail Cienega vs. No. 9 Peoria Sunrise Mountain on Wednesday.

No. 12 Tucson lost to top-seed Goodyear Desert Edge 6-4 in the other D-II elimination game played on Saturday. The Badgers finished 17-15 on the year.