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San Manuel Miners
After winning the 2A South Region Championship with an undefeated record (10-0) and a run to the state semifinals a year ago, the San Manuel softball team appears ready to return to a place it’s accustomed to.
State Champion.
The Lady Miners finished last season with a record of 20 – 10, suffering a 2 – 0 loss in the state semifinals to eventual 2A State Champion Benson. Head coach Patty St. Jeor has several returning players mixed with a few talented newcomers and some freshmen, who were members of a state championship team in junior high. The combination of experience, talent and championship pedigree has expectations high as the Lady Miners look forward to their season opener this Friday.
Senior captains Clarissa Lizarraga and Cassandra Guerrero, along with junior Taya Dockum, are the leaders of this year’s team, according to St. Jeor.
Guerrero, an All-South Region outfielder in 2017, hit .264 with 11 RBI and 23 runs scored as a junior.
St. Jeor also expects returning junior Andrea Guerrero as well as sophomores Gabriella Estrada and Dine Miller to be key contributors this season.
The Lady Miners will also feature several new players, including senior Angelique Laguna and sophomores Samantha Waddell, Beatrice Gomez, and Journey Gorham.
Five freshmen off the junior high championship team – Kirsten Renteria, Adriana Ivy, Thalia Tamayo, Myleaha Gallego, and Victoria Zazueta – will make their varsity debuts in 2018.
St. Jeor welcomes back assistants Angela Sierra and Jessica Castro while adding San Manuel softball alums Angelica Zuniga and Felicia Medina.
The Lady Miners host Santa Cruz in their season opener this Friday, Feb. 23. The JV game is scheduled for 2 p.m. with varsity game following immediately afterwards.
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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