Arizona high school sports titles on the line in baseball, softball, track and boys volleyball
The Arizona spring high school sports season is coming down to the wire over the next few days, with the final championships being settled in baseball, softball, boys volleyball and track and field.
Here's an overview of the final upcoming championship events, which will conclude the Arizona Interscholastic Association's 2022-23 high school sports year:
Baseball
1A: Semifinal games will be played Friday night. The winner of No. 4 St. David vs. No. 1 Hayden will meet the winner of No. 3 Williams at No. 2 Bagdad in Saturday’s championship game at 7 p.m., at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
2A; Semifinal games will be played Friday night. The winner of No. 8 Scottsdale Prep vs. No. 4 Phoenix Christian will meet the winner of No. 10 Morenci vs. No. 6 Horizon Honors in Saturday’s championship game at 4 p.m., at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
3A: Two semifinal games were scheduled for Thursday night. The winner of No. 1 Valley Christian vs. No. 5 Yuma Catholic will meet the winner of No. 2 Northwest Christian vs. No. 6 River Valley, at 4 p.m. Monday, at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
4A: One semifinal game remained to be played Thursday night between No. 2 Saguaro and No. 3 Sahuarita, the third time the schools will have met in this playoff tournament because of the double-elimination format. The teams split the first two. The winner of Thursday night’s game will face No. 5 Canyon del Oro in the championship game at 7 p.m. Monday, at Tempe Diablo Stadium (Note: If Sahuarita wins Thursday the championship game could relocate to the Tucson area to accommodate the two Southern Arizona schools).
5A: One semifinal game remained Thursday night, between No. 1 Catalina Foothills and No. 4 Horizon. As in 4A, Thursday’s game marked the third time the two schools have met in these playoffs because of the format, splitting the previous two. The winner will move on to face No. 2 Casteel in the championship game on Tuesday at 4 p.m., at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
6A: Two semifinal games are scheduled for Friday night involving the four remaining teams: No. 8 Sandra Day O’Connor will face No. 1 Hamilton at 4 p.m., at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa. Then, No. 6 Queen Creek will face No. 3 Basha at 6:30 p.m., at Hohokam Stadium. Depending on the outcomes, there was a possibility a second game could be played on Saturday. The winners of these semifinal matchups will play in the championship game on Tuesday at 7 p.m., at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
Softball
1A: The winner of Thursday evening's semifinal games between No. 4 St. David vs. No. 1 Wiliams, and No. 3 Joseph City vs. No. 2 Bagdad, will meet in the championship game on Friday at 5:30 p.m., at ASU's Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe.
2A: No. 8 Horizon Honors will face No. 3 Northland Prep in Friday's championship game at 8 p.m., at ASU's Farrington Softball Stadium.
3A: No. 2 Empire will face No. 1 Sabino in the championship game on Tuesday at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Stadium in Tucson (Time TBD).
4A: The winners of Thursday night's semifinal matchups between No. 6 Paradise Honors vs. No. 1 Salpointe Catholic, and No. 5 Canyon del Oro vs. No. 2 Greenway, will meet in the championship game scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m., at Farrington Stadium. (Note: Wins by Salpointe and Canyon del Oro could result in the championship game being relocated to the Tucson area to accommodate the Southern Arizona schools).
5A: The winners of Thursday night's semifinals matchups between No. 3 Canyon View vs. No. 1 Willow Canyon, and No. 5 Campo Verde vs. No. 2 Desert Mountain, will meet in the championship game on Monday at 5:30 p.m., at ASU's Farrington Stadium.
6A: No. 4 Perry will face No. 2 Basha in the championship game on Monday at 8 p.m., at ASU's Farrington Stadium.
Crunch time: Where do Arizona high school softball playoffs stand?
Boys Volleyball
4A: The winners of Thursday night's semifinal matches between No. 5 AZ College Prep vs. No. 1 Northwest Christian, and No. 3 Estrella Foothills vs. No. 2 Deer Valley, will meet in Saturday's championship match at noon at Skyline High School in Mesa.
5A: The winners of Thursday night's semifinal matches between No. 5 ALA-Queen Creek vs. No. 1 Casteel, and No. 7 Canyon View vs. No. 6 Ironwood, will meet in Saturday's championship match at 3 p.m., at Skyline High School.
6A: The winners of Thursday night's semifinal matches between No. 5 Mountain View vs. No. 1 Highland, and No. 3 Brophy vs. No. 2 Perry, will meet in Saturday's championship match at 6 p.m., at Skyline High School.
Track and Field
This year marks a new format put in place by the Arizona Interscholastic Association for both boys' and girls' track and field championships.
Last week, separate championships took place in Divisions I through V. From there, the top 18 athletes in each event advance to this weekend's state championships being held Friday and Saturday at Mesa Community College. The best competitors from each division in various events will compete against each other in this weekend's state tournament format.
More: AIA's new track and field championships format draws mixed reaction
More: Red Mountain's Tyler Mathews, Desert Vista's Hayden Gorovitz tune up for state track
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona high school sports titles on the line in baseball, softball, track and boys volleyball
