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Excitement over another state softball championship.
The town of Superior is again the home of a state champion softball team. The small copper-mining city and its Senior League softball team will represent the state of Arizona at the Western Regional Tournament, which will take place in Missoula, Montana beginning July 21.
This will be the first time a Senior League team from Superior has advanced to the regional tournament.
The Senior League state champions cruised through the Arizona District 4 Tournament in lopsided fashion last month, sweeping three games to win their second-straight district title, which earned them a berth at last week’s state tournament in Nogales, Arizona.
Behind pitching ace KiKi Arriola and some hot bats, Superior continued its dominance and remained undefeated at the state tourney, winning four-straight games by an average run differential of 11 runs per game to claim its first-ever Senior League State Championship.
Superior defeated Peoria (7 – 0), Sierra Vista (18 – 3) and Sunnyside twice (11 – 0, 19 – 1) to earn the trip to Montana.
“Right now, the dominant force we do have is KiKi Arriola,” said Superior Senior League manager Martin Navarrette, who also led Superior High School to the 2015 Division IV Softball State Championship. “She’s been mowing opposing batters down left and right, and that’s from district all the way through the state tournaments. There really isn’t anyone who can catch up with her.”
“Our hitting has been tremendous as well,” Navarrette added. “I’m talking about (the entire lineup) and our bench players who come in; everyone is swinging the bat and making good contact.”
Because of the recent success of its softball teams, Superior has to be considered one of the state’s softball meccas, something that Navarrette acknowledged he is proud to be associated with.
“It means a lot to me and especially the girls,” he told the Superior Sun. “This is the first time that we’ve had a girls’ team from Superior make it past the state tournament, so that’s making history for them. It’s been a great experience for the girls.”
The team will fly to Montana on Wednesday evening, a day before the start of the regional tournament on Thursday. A social ice cream sendoff party was hosted by Resolution Copper at the office on Main Street (next to Porter’s Café) on Tuesday, July 19 at 5 p.m.
The Senior League Champions and coaching staff are:
Alicia “KiKi” Arriola, Victoria Juarez, Yuvithzia Romero, Anisah Cardenas, Naomi Bo Hing, Cassandra Drennan, DeAndrian Bogenschutz, Julissa Garcia, McKenna Duarte, Sivanna Lopez, Marlee Estatico, Marisa Estatico and Amber Alonzo.
Martin Navarrette – Manager, Mykol Alonzo – Asst. Coach and Sonia Estatico – Asst. Coach.
Congratulations and good luck to the Senior League Softball state champions!
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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