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Corona shocked by Flowing Wells in state softball quarterfinals

By Brian Gomez

A near-perfect season, top billing in the state and national prominence fluttered away last week for the Corona del Sol High School varsity softball team before many fans even settled into their seats at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix.

The Aztecs were eliminated from the state quarterfinals after suffering a 1-0 loss to Tucson Flowing Wells, which scored the game’s lone run in the top of first inning when senior first baseman Ashley Monceaux and sophomore pitcher Desiree Williams smacked consecutive doubles.

Flowing Wells went on to capture its third state title with a 5-0 victory over Tucson Sahuaro, while Corona was left wondering about what could have been.

“We didn’t do what we were supposed to do. We didn’t execute the fundamentals,” said seventh-year Corona head coach Jennifer Mendes-Ray, whose team finished the season 31-3.

“We had a good run. Unfortunately, somebody had to lose, and it was us.”

Corona senior Becky McDonald pitched six scoreless innings after the opening frame, but never received any run support. The Aztecs threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning when sophomore center fielder Jackie Vasquez and junior second baseman Stephanie Brown lined back-to-back singles before three consecutive fly-outs ended their hopes.

Williams shot down the side in the seventh inning to seal the deal. She gave up just three hits, while striking out seven batters and walking none.

“I thought we were going to get the run back. We had been crushing the ball lately, but you have to get it through the holes,” said McDonald, who is headed to the University of Northern Iowa on a softball scholarship.

“You think you’re going to score, but it doesn’t always happen.”

After being tabbed as high as No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, Corona entered the postseason at the No. 3 spot, but will surely fall when the final rankings are released. However, senior Tara Hansen, who threw six scoreless innings and recorded nine strikeouts in Corona’s 2-0 second-round win over Yuma Kofa, said the ranking doesn’t hold that much meaning.

“It’s a side thing,” said Hansen, who will play at Fairfield University this fall. “When we first heard about it, we just kind of laughed. It’s exciting, but winning is what’s important.”

The Aztecs are slated to lose McDonald and Hansen to graduation, but will return everyone else next year. After sharing time on the mound this past season, Corona’s pair of aces are going to turn the pitching reigns over to sophomore Michelle Farrell and junior Danielle Gerken.

Corona will still have a solid force behind the plate in junior catcher Megan Willis, who emerged as one of the team’s leaders during a season in which she hit around .400. Willis also picked off more than a dozen base runners.

“The whole experience has been more motivating this year. We have taken it so much more seriously,” Willis said. “I didn’t know how good we would be. We all thought we had a really good chance.”

The Aztecs will welcome back a star-studded infield that includes Brown, junior first baseman Megan Hansen, sophomore shortstop Katie Laing and sophomore third baseman Jacquie Mason.

They will sport a highly touted outfield consisting of Vasquez, junior Katie Logan and sophomore Whitney Lebowitz. Corona has also shown much promise with a junior varsity team that went 19-0.

“We’ve got a lot of talent coming back and should be strong next year,” Mendes-Ray said.

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com.

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