The Panthers completed a near-perfect regular season with a 16-1 record and an 11-1 record in the Grand Canyon region standings. Their only loss came to Bradshaw Mountain at Prescott Valley on 28 March.

Panthers manager Kimberly Dennis is proud of the way the team signed the deal.

“That’s certainly the goal for this year, but it’s not easy, especially in our area,” said Dennis. “I think our area is really tough.”

A victory after entering the game ranked 7th in the 4A conference ensured the Panthers avoided the play-in round.

“Given how much we’ve played, it’s nice to know that we don’t have to play a play-in game and then practice,” Dennis said. No. To be able to play home field in that first round is huge.”

Flagstaff finished the regular season with a record of 14-4 overall and 9-3 at the Grand Canyon to secure a spot in the play-ins.

Coconino got off to a fast start in front of a vibrant home crowd on the senior night. Face off against freshman starting pitcher Kayleigh Culwell, the Panthers stormed in, scoring twice before giving up an out. Both runs were wild pitches. The Panthers his sophomore Destiny Villas had a big game in the bottom of the first when he extended his lead to 4–0 with a two RBI single.

Villas went 3-for-4 at the plate with two singles and a triple in the sixth inning. She finished the day with two RBIs and many runs scored.

“I feel it’s very important to come out on top in such a big game, especially on a Monday night under the lights,” Villas said. “It was pretty cool to jump on top of a rival team.”

Seniors Victoria Leslie and Olivia Gomez drove runs after Villas after the first inning to extend Coconino’s lead to 6–0.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Tso hosted the show on Senior Night. She pitched a complete game, allowing 13 strikeouts and just five hits.

“We saw a little extra fire in her today,” Denise said.

The Eagles had plenty of chances to rally and close the gap as the leadoff runners reached base in three of the first four innings.

“They can’t score just knowing we have to keep them on base if we adjust,” Tso said.

Flagstaff’s only two-run hit was a long double from sophomore catcher Abby Schmitz, who was feet away from the homer on a shot to center field when he attempted a double play in the fourth on Coconino’s throwing error.

Coconino continued to score even though he fell in order in the second inning. A walk and a hit put him on base with three batters before sophomore Danika Khan hit a triple that put him 9-0 after three innings.

With the game’s late start and the sun quickly disappearing, it was easy to assume that the run rule would have allowed the game to finish before the sun went out, but Dennis pitched seven innings. was satisfied.

“Hopefully it will come back to help us out and experience later games and more innings with it,” Dennis said. will be employed.”

Villas shared the same sentiment about getting a full game knowing the Panthers won’t play again until Saturday. It was a welcome challenge to have to.

“Our season has been pretty, not easy, but it hasn’t been that challenging, so I’m honestly happy we got extra innings,” said Villas. I’m glad I was able to throw it full and play a full game.”

That’s not to say the Panthers didn’t try to end the game early with the mercy rule. Tso did some work with the bat by driving in Coconino’s last two runs on a groundout in the 4th in the 6th off Junior Gianna Baka, who relieved Calwell after 5 innings.

Tso was convinced that her aggressive output on top of her gems in the circle made Coconino much harder to beat.

“If everyone can hit, I’ll do my job,” Tso said. “They can do their job. If I can do their job, and if I can do mine, we can easily win.”

The Panthers will host the first round of the 4A State Tournament on Saturday, with teams determined later in the week. They will learn their seeds in a tournament following Wednesday’s play-in round.

No. 15 ranked Flagstaff will host No. 18 Arcadia in a play-in round on Wednesday at 4pm in Flagstaff.