3A North softball
'Another stepping stone'
Winslow easily wins region, sets sights on state tourney
By Candace Begody
Navajo Times
WINSLOW, Ariz., May 5, 2011
(Special to the Times - Donovan Quintero)
Winslow's Renee Bollin (5) connects with the ball April 29 during the 3A North tournament game against Holbrook.
"We were expected to win and we didn't want to have a letdown," said Winslow 11-year head coach Becky Barris. "It was one of our goals and it was just another stepping stone into our season."
The Lady Bulldogs, the 3A defending state champions, claimed their 11th straight regional title against region No. 3 Tuba City, 16-1.
Winslow had a bye in the quarterfinals then swept the Holbrook Roadrunners, 9-0, in the semifinals. Then they put away the Lady Warriors early in the fifth inning of the championship game.
The Bulldogs have an overall record of 28-5 and 8-0 in the region, including 15 shutouts and 11 games where the Bulldogs only allowed one run.
"We just wanted to get past this so we could get to the state tournament," Barris said. "We knew if we played and executed, then we'd do alright - we did just that."
Winslow won its first state title last year after defeating Estrella Foothills, 4-3, for the school's first title since 1988 and the first in Barris' career. They ended their season with an overall record of 36-2, with losses to Nevada and California teams. The year before their state-title year, the team was runner-up to Blue Ridge at the state tournament.
This year, leading the Bulldogs to their victory are the seniors, according to Barris, including two-time defensive player of the year Gabby Stacey, a senior shortstop.
"The seniors stepped up and did a good job getting on base and leading our team," Barris said. "We are looking to them to lead us in the coming games."
Other seniors include centerfield Mireya Ulibarri and third baseman Melissa Jacobs.
Although the Bulldogs won the region, Barris said the team didn't play to their potential.
"We shouldn't have given up a run," she said. "I think we threw some pitches we shouldn't have, we struggled early on in the game, we didn't score as early as I wanted to, and I don't think we were pumped up or as ready as we needed to be to get going."
The Bulldogs advance to the first round of the state tournament this weekend as the No. 1 seed. They face No. 16 River Valley Friday at the Rose Mofford Softball Complex's Field 5 at 6 p.m. in Phoenix.
Barris said they aren't taking any team lightly and know exactly what needs to be done to successfully defend their title.
"We're going to have to play solid defense and make some adjustments," she said. "Teams down south like to play the short game so we will have to be ready for whatever they bring."
Tuba City
It was déjà vu for the region's No. 3 team, the Tuba City Lady Warriors.
Last year, the Warriors took second at the regional tournament and again finished second this year to the Lady Bulldogs.
"I have no shame losing to Winslow," said Tuba City third-year head coach Jon Yazzie. "We wanted to do our best to win the game but Winslow's just too tough. But I love the fact that we battled back and were able to play for the championship."
Winslow went 2-0 against Tuba City in the regular season, with scores of 12-1 and 7-1.
"We thought we were going to do pretty good," said Yazzie. "But Winslow started bunting and slap hitting and we ended up falling behind.
"They caught us off guard with their bunt coverage," he added. "And when we made one error, it seemed to have a domino effect."
In the semifinals, the Warriors' used bunts and slaps to put away No. 2 Window Rock, 9-8.
"We were hitting great off Window Rock so we decided to mix in a short game," Yazzie said. "We played every inning for a point and capitalized on their mistakes."
That was a plan they hoped to repeat in the championship game against Winslow.
"When we showed to bunt against Winslow, they were already expecting it and their coverage was great," Yazzie said. "But we knew there was a lot to gain from that game and we wanted to try some new things - anything that we could build off of before we go to state.
"We just never got the opportunity against Winslow," he added. "Every time we got up in the lineup, it didn't work out. They were super fast on the bases and the team is so much better this year."
Yazzie said though they placed second last year, "The beating wasn't as bad as this time around."
The Warriors advance to the first round of the state tournament this weekend as the No. 10 seed and face No. 7 Empire Friday at the Rose Mofford Softball Complex's Field 4 at 8 p.m. in Phoenix.
Of their opening-round opponent, Yazzie said, "There are no stats online and nothing to go by so we are going in blind."
This season, Empire welcomed head coach Laura Espinoza-Watson, a former University of Arizona softball star who holds the top single season mark for homeruns at 37 during the mid-90s. She was a national player of the year and a former coach at Eastern Arizona College, Pima College and Loyola Marymount University.
No matter the outcome, Yazzie said, "I just want them to learn the game and be a student of the game. I want them to learn from the situations Winslow put us in and keep moving forward."
Yazzie said the core of this year's team are sophomores and a group he's coached since their sixth-grade years.
"They will be in contention when they get older," he added.
The Holbrook Roadrunners came in the region tourney as the No. 4 seed and knocked out No. 5 Chinle, 11-5, in the quarterfinals. They were then shutout by Winslow in the semifinals, 9-0, then beat Window Rock, 9-3, for the third-place finish.
The Roadrunners advance to the first round of the state tournament as the No. 15 seed and face No. 2 Estrella Foothills Friday at the Rose Mofford Softball Complex's Field 6 at 8 p.m. in Phoenix.
The Lady Scouts, the region's fourth-place finishers, advance to the first round of the state tournament as the No. 9 seed and face No. 8 Show Low Friday at the Rose Mofford Softball Complex's Field 6 at 6 p.m. in Phoenix.
The Scouts came into the regional tournament as the No. 2 seed and eliminated No. 7 Ganado, 8-5, in the quarterfinals. They later fell to No. 3 Tuba City, 9-8, in the semifinals then lost to No. 4 Holbrook in the third-place game.