Page flexes its muscle heading into state playoffs
Page Sand Devil Dana Smith slides into third as Chinle Wildcat Troy Yazzie tags him for an out on Friday in Chinle. (Times photo - Donovan Quintero)
Page Sand Devil Dana Smith slides into third as Chinle Wildcat Troy Yazzie tags him for an out on Friday in Chinle. (Times photo – Donovan Quintero)
CHINLE
And just like that, the Page baseball team assumed total control of the Division III, Section I race.
The Sand Devils posted a huge 18-1 win over Chinle last Friday afternoon to guarantee their spot at this weekend’s Arizona Division III state baseball tournament.
The top team in each section earned automatic bids for the state tournament and as of press time the Arizona Interscholastic Association had not released the bracket.
Going into last Friday’s matchup both teams came into showdown with impressive marks.
“This was huge for us and our destiny is now in our control,” Page coach Ernie Rivers said. “We don’t have to rely on anybody beating anybody. From here forward as long as we win our next three sectional games we’ll make the playoffs.”
That is exactly what the Sand Devils did as they defeated Window Rock 12-2 on April 25 before taking care of Pinon 24-1 on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Sand Devils traveled to Hopi for its last regular season game and posted a 14-2 win to improve its record to 13-5 overall and 9-0 in league play.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, closed out the regular season with Greyhills on Wednesday.
Despite losing its only sectional game of the season, the Wildcats are in good position to make the state playoffs with a No. 21 ranking in the latest power ranking.
“We’re planning on going,” said Wildcat coach Don Kimbrough, while adding that it’s been about six years since Chinle’s made the playoffs.
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