Page softball wins region crown: Lady Sand Devils enter playoffs as No. 15 seed

PAGE – The Page Lady Sand Devils posted a pair of shutout wins, by identical 10-0 scores, on Saturday to claim this year’s 3A North Region softball tournament.

The Sand Devils entered the region tournament as the top seed, having won the regular season crown with a perfect 12-0 record.

Page (18-11 overall) earned a first-round bye in the seven-team tournament, then defeated No. 4 seed Chinle, 10-0, in the semifinal contest that went five innings.

The Sand Devils capped the tournament with another 10-0 win, this time over No. 3 seed Monument Valley that also went five frames.

“You know, these girls have been really solid,” first-year coach Trent Sutherland said. “It was tough at the beginning of the season, but they’re coming together. They really brought it together going into this tournament and that’s why we’re the champions.

“We got to keep that momentum going heading into the state playoffs,” he added.

In the final Arizona Interscholastic Association 3A state rankings, the Sand Devils earned the No. 15 seed as Page hosted Phoenix Northwest Christian at 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. Results for that contest were not available as the paper went to print.

The winner of that game would be placed in the 16-team state bracket, with the top eight seeds hosting first-round games. The state bracket will be released today (Thursday) at 11:30 a.m. by the AIA.

“I love our chances,” Sutherland said of the playoffs. “Like I said, they’ve now come together as a team and we’re playing strong, and we’ve got a lot of momentum that we’re gonna be tough to beat.”

Heading into the playoffs, Sutherland is expecting to start sophomore Leah Bigthumb in the circle. Bigthumb has a 7.14 ERA, having pitched 68.2 innings. She has given up 123 hits and 70 earned runs.

“Leah pitched both of our games today,” Sutherland said following Saturday’s regional tournament. “She doesn’t have the most strength, but she can spin the ball and hit her spots better than anybody that I’ve seen in this region.

“Going forward, she’s going to be tough for the next couple years,” he added.

Offensively, the Sand Devils have a 0.449 batting average. Through 30 games, Page has plated 317 runs on 322 hits, including 17 home runs, headed by sophomore Shanelle Tallsalt’s five homers.

“Batting is all about momentum,” the Page coach said. “We have to keep that momentum going because when a couple of girls lose that, we struggle to get that back. But everyone in my lineup can hit the ball.

“I can even go farther than that, as a matter of fact,” Sutherland added. “You know, I can go one through 11.”

Of his prolific hitting team, Sutherland said his first four batters are the most consistent.

“Alyssa Manson is our leadoff batter, and she gets us going,” Sutherland said. “Right behind her is Kayomi June and she is an RBI queen. And then behind her is Kylie Sam, and she can place the ball anytime, anywhere. And when those three get on base, we’ve got Shanelle Tallsalt coming up to clean them up.”

Sutherland, who is originally from Salt Lake City, took over the program this season after a turbulent 2023 season. Then head coach Sunny Crank resigned due to a fallout with some of the players.

It was alleged that Crank allowed last year’s players to be ridiculed and heckled by another Page High School employee, during a practice session last spring.

Five players were eventually suspended for violating the Parent/Family/Guardian Code of Conduct before being reinstated for the state playoffs. The Sand Devils finished the playoffs with a 1-1 record, with assistant coach Sylvester Begay serving as the interim coach. (Of those five players, four were seniors with Manson being the lone returner.)

“Last year was kind of rough at the end of the season,” Sutherland said. “You know, some of the returning players still felt that, but every one of them have come together … bringing them together as a team was what we really needed to do, and that is what they’ve accomplished.”

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