The state tournament brackets are set, so it’s time to further dissect the baseball playoffs. Here is the primer that ran in the paper on Friday. However, the seeds weren’t set before our print deadline, so for all you loyal online readers here’s a more in-depth breakdown. As I said in the outlook, the randomness of the matchups is going to play a big role in how the playoffs play out, and that looks to be the case. Here are my thoughts on what will happen in the first two …

This is it:  The last of the regular season matchups. All teams vying for playoff positions, “bubble teams” trying to get into the top-24, and jostling for one of those top 8 seeds (especially in Div. I and Div. II) have until Wednesday evening to determine whether summer vacation begins early.
The top 4 teams in each Section (based on power points) are automatic entrants, with the remaining 12 spots based solely on power points.
We’ll update the state tournament brackets as soon as they’re posted late this week.
Let’s get to it.
(All …

Xavier’s softball team is hosting a spring tournament later this week.
It’s a five-team tournament (Xavier, Campo Verde, Peorial Centennial, Seton Catholic, Mountain Pointe) held at Rose Mofford Softball Complex (9833 N. 25th Ave., Phoenix).
Here’s the schedule:
Thursday March 8
1 p.m.:  Campo Verde vs. Centennial (Field 3);  Seton Catholic vs. Mountain Pointe (Field 4)
3 p.m.:  Centennial vs. Seton Catholic (Field 3); Xavier vs. Campo Verde (Field 4)
Friday March 9
1 p.m.:  Campo Verde vs. Mountain Pointe (Field 3);  Xavier vs. Centennial (Field 4)
3 p.m.:  Centennial vs. Mountain Pointe (Field 3); Xavier vs. Seton …

I touched on this in the game story of Seton Catholic’s third consecutive state championship in a 52-44 win over Peoria in the Division II girls championship game to begin Championship Saturday, but it was a crazy sequence when Seton scored a 5-on-0 layup coming out of a timeout.
Peoria coach Leslie Saulsby certainly didn’t mince words with the officiating or the AIA during or after the game. Most of the rest of the second half he was visibly ticked off at the officiating and members of the AIA sitting courtside, and …

Two people applied for the Seton Catholic girls basketball coaching job in 1992. Karen Self and another person, and she won the proverbial coin flip.
She was fresh out of Arizona State following a solid playing career, but never coached before and was broke.
“I was floored when it said $2,000 to coach the season,” she said earlier this week. “I was in it for the money.”
She went 13-13 her first season, and joked that she was too intimidated by her first boss to quit at the time, so she did it …

It’s the final go-round of regular season games for girls basketball. Everything wraps up Friday night and Sectionals from each Division begin next Tuesday, with semifinals set for Thursday night and championship games on Friday night, Feb. 10  (Division IV girls are Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday).
The top eight teams in each Section advance to the Sectional Tournament, which is single elimination. If a team wins its first game in the Sectional Tournament it should advance to the state tournament.
(All games are 7 p.m.  and records are PP games only through Monday).
Pinnacle at St. …

The three-week crush is on everywhere to get one of those 24 playoff spots come February. Appetites were whetted by the terrific Chandler-St. Mary’s matchup last Friday night, but more good stuff is coming quickly.
(All games at 7 p.m.  Records are power point games only as of Monday, Jan. 9).
Xavier at Highland (Monday):  Talk about starting off the week with a bang, the Gators (6-2) and Hawks (6-1) could meet again after this, somewhere along the lines of a state quarterfinals matchup. If you like shooting, defense and fundamentals, this …

There doesn’t seem to be much buzz about Seton Catholic quarterback Ryan Bresnahan despite his gaudy statistics, and for two notable reasons:
- The Sentinels dropped down from 4A-II to Division IV this season, which lowered the type of competition Seton faces. As a private school, Seton is going to have the upper hand athletically against the majority of small-school teams.
- The team runs an air-it-out spread offense which inflates the numbers of the quarterback and wide receivers, no matter who is running the show.
Even though some may discount his season …

Player of the Year: Tess McPherson (Notre Dame)
Coach of the Year: Mike Hollowel  (Notre Dame)
First Team
P: Tess McPherson (Notre Dame)
C: Jenna Coates (Higley
INF: Courtney Rodriguez (Seton Catholic); Amber Webster (Coronado); Jessica Delawder (Williams Field); Nicole Bailey (Notre Dame); Cassidy Boggs (Higley); Lindsey Buckner (Notre Dame).
OF: Brandi Heimburg (Arcadia); Mary Ahern (Notre Dame); Sierra Vigil (Williams Field); Lindsie Kreiger (Coronado).
UT: Alicia Portillo (Maricopa); Madkson Merrill (Higley).
Second Team
P: Madison Austin (Seton Catholic)
C: Kaylie Brittain (Williams Field)
INF: Brittany Heyer (Williams Field); McKenna Wiegand (Seton Catholic); Vanessa Flores …

It’s the 23rd hour, swansong, bubble time, fat lady warming up, etc…
Whatever lame adjective/cliche you want to use, a handful of softball schools have Wednesday’s games (or need help) to squeeze into the top 16 and live to play this weekend’s state tournaments, or simply the 8/9 borderline between a home game and sitting on a bus.
Here’s a look at who’s straddling the line between tournament time and turning in uniforms this spring:
5A-I
No. 13 Skyline at No. 20 Mountain Pointe: The Coyotes got off to a fast start in power …