Copper Area baseball, softball players earn postseason accolades

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  Baseball and softball players from Superior, Ray, Hayden and San Manuel high schools were named to the recently announced Arizona Interscholastic Association All-Conference and All-Region teams as well as the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association (AzBCA) All-State and All-Academic teams.

  The 1A Baseball State Champion Superior Panthers led the way with head coach Manuel Ortega and shortstop and pitcher Nicolaus Cruz being selected as 1A Conference and 1A East Region Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. The Panthers’ Edgar Galindo and Ray’s Jordan Pace were named the 1A East Region Co-Players of the Year. The Cats’ Jaden Pace was the 1A East Region Offensive Player of the Year.

  The 1A Softball State Champion Ray Lady Cats and runner-up Superior swept the individual awards in both the 1A Conference and 1A East Region.

  The Lady Cats’ head coach Curt Cook and pitcher Daniella Hinojos are the 1A Conference and 1A East Region Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively. Ray’s Janae Ruiz and Superior’s Kiki Arriola also earned 1A Conference and 1A East Region honors. Ruiz was selected the Defensive Player of the Year in both while Arriola was named the Offensive Player of the Year. Lady Miners’ junior Nikki Baldenegro was named the 2A South Region Player of the Year.

  Ortega, who was also named the AzBCA Coach of the Year, led the Panthers to a 25 – 3 overall record, including 8 – 0 in the region and the Region Championship.

  Cruz, who was the 1A Conference Football Offensive Player of the Year, picked up another Player of the Year award in baseball after posting a .929 fielding percentage.

  Galindo, a senior, batted .364 and led the region with three homeruns. He finished second in the region in steals (16) to teammate Nicolaus Cruz (20), fourth in the region with 30 RBI, and was third with a 2.86 ERA.

  Jordan Pace, a senior, finished at the top of three different offensive categories in the region, including slugging percentage (.681), runs (45) and OBP (.594). He also finished tied for second in homeruns and was fourth in batting average (.409).

  Jaden Pace, a sophomore, led the region with a .488 batting average. He finished in the top five of six other categories, including homeruns (3rd), slugging percentage (2nd), RBI (3rd), runs (2nd), stolen bases (5th), and OBP (4th).

  The Lady Cats won the second of back-to-back state titles under the direction of head coach Curt Cook. Ray finished undefeated in region play, winning the region championship with a 5 – 0 record. The Lady Cats were 23 – 3 overall this season.

  Hinojos, one of the best two-way players in the state regardless of conference level, was a 22-game winner on the mound with a 1.16 ERA and 185 strikeouts; all were the best in the region. At the plate, the sophomore, third in homeruns (3), first in RBI (37), and fifth in runs (31).

  Ruiz, a middle infielder, ended the year with a .927 fielding percentage. She was a force on offense as well, leading the region with a .524 batting average. The junior was also in the top five in slugging percentage (.719), RBI (28), runs (40), OBP (.632) and stolen bases (20).

  Arriola, a senior, also a top two-way player, led the region with five homeruns and a .883 slugging percentage. The right-hander was second to Hinojos in strikeouts (170), ERA (2.24) and wins (15).

  Baldenegro, one of the best two-players in the 2A Conference, batted .511 with 10 doubles, four triples, five homeruns and 41 RBI. One the mound, she was a 19-game winner with a 2.25 ERA. She also fanned 264 hitters in 162 IP, an average of more than 11 strikeouts per game.

Superior Baseball

AIA 1A Conference Coach of the Year – Manuel Ortega.

AIA 1A Conference Defensive Player of the Year – Nicolaus Cruz.

AIA 1A All-Conference 1st Team – Austin Navarrette, Edgar Galindo, and Nicolaus Cruz.

AIA 1A All-Conference 2nd Team – Kale Major and Stevie Denogean.

AIA 1A East Region Coach of the Year – Manuel Ortega.

AIA 1A East Region Co-Player of the Year – Edgar Galindo.

AIA 1A East Region Defensive Player of the Year – Nicolaus Cruz.

AIA 1A East Region 1st Team – Kale Major, Austin Navarrette, Nicolaus Cruz, Edgar Galindo, and Stevie Denogean.

AIA 1A East Region 2nd Team – Steven Ybarra and Jesse Lopez.

AzBCA 1A Coach of the Year – Manuel Ortega.

AzBCA 1A All-State 1st Team – Edgar Galindo, Austin Navarrette and Nicolaus Cruz.

AzBCA 1A All-State 2nd Team – Stevie Denogean and Kale Major.

Superior Softball

AIA 1A Conference Offensive Player of the Year – Kiki Arriola.

AIA 1A All-Conference 1st Team – Kiki Arriola and Naomi Hing.

AIA 1A All-Conference 2nd Team – Marisa Estatico, Tori Juarez and Lindsay Ketron.

AIA 1A East Region Offensive Player of the Year – Kiki Arriola.

AIA 1A East Region 1st Team – Kiki Arriola, Tori Juarez, Naomi Hing, and Lindsay Ketron.

AIA 1A East Region 2nd Team – DeAndrian Bogenschutz, Marisa Estatico, Yuvithzia Romero, Anisah Cardenas, and Marlee Estatico.

AIA 1A East Region Honorable Mention – Cassandra Drennan, Analysse Jaurez and Sivanna Lopez.

Ray Baseball

AIA 1A All-Conference 1st Team – Noah Warren, Jordan Pace and Jaden Pace.

AIA 1A All-Conference 2nd Team – Brett Fackiner.

AIA 1A East Region Co-Player of the Year – Jordan Pace.

AIA 1A East Region Offensive Player of the Year – Jaden Pace.

AIA 1A East Region 1st Team – Noah Warren, Jaden Pace, Brett Fackiner, and Jordan Pace.

AIA 1A East Region 2nd Team – Richard Valenzuela, Anthony Lopez, Charlie Romero, Anthony Acuna, and Fabian Valenzuela.

AzBCA All-Academic All-Star Team – Noah Warren.

AzBCA 1A All-State 1st Team – Noah Warren, Jordan Pace and Jaden Pace.

AzBCA 1A All-State 2nd Team – Brett Fackiner.

AzBCA 1A Field of the Year – Ray High School.

Ray Softball

AIA 1A Conference Coach of the Year – Curt Cook.

AIA 1A Conference Player of the Year – Daniella Hinojos.

AIA 1A Conference Defensive Player of the Year – Janae Ruiz.

AIA 1A All-Conference 1st Team – Daniella Hinojos, Tara Lorona, Janae Ruiz, Julie Meza, and Gabby Montano.

AIA 1A East Region Coach of the Year – Curt Cook.

AIA 1A East Region Player of the Year – Daniella Hinojos.

AIA 1A East Region Defensive Player of the Year – Janae Ruiz.

AIA 1A East Region 1st Team – Daniella Hinojos, Tara Lorona, Julie Meza, Gabby Montano, and Janae Ruiz.

AIA 1A East Region 2nd Team – Danni Montano, Ema Alverado and Haily Mabuce.

AIA 1A East Region Honorable Mention – Myranda Figueroa, Destiny Gonzales and Amee Kenyon.

Hayden Baseball

AIA 1A All-Conference 2nd Team – Jacob Carrasco.

AIA 1A East Region 1st Team – Mario Mariscal and Jacob Carrasco.

AIA 1A East Region 2nd Team – Adrian Encinas, Brandon Cruz and Joel Rodriguez.

Hayden Softball

AIA 1A East Region 1st Team – Alexzander Gomez and Brandi Lopez.

AIA 1A East Region 2nd Team – Jessica Lopez, Jaden Gonzales and Casandra Westrope.

AIA 1A East Region Honorable Mention – Kayla Islava.

San Manuel Baseball

2A South All-Region First Team:  Josh Sharp

2A South All-Region Second Team:  Ceazar Guererro

San Manuel Softball

2A South Region Player of the Year:  Nikki Baldenegro

2A South Region First Team:  Nikki Baldenegro, Dionne Ruiz, Elyssia Aguilar, Brianna Galarza, Daniela Guererro, and Cassandra Guererro.

2A South Region Second Team:  Andrea Guererro and Gabriella Estrada.

Andy Luberda (1149 Posts)

Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.


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