The Winslow Lady Bulldogs entered the state tournament as the fifth overall seed and had to await the results of the April 25 play-in games before knowing who they would face in the first round when the 3A State softball tournament got underway on Saturday, April 28, at the Rose Mofford Complex.
Sabino ended up defeated Blue Ridge in the play-in game by a final of 7-0 making them Winslow’s first round opponent. That win over the Yellowjackets proved to be their last as Winslow ended Sabino’s season on Saturday in a close 3-2 outcome.
The Sabercats broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth with a single run. Winslow answered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to take the lead. Sabino tied the score in the top of the sixth at 2-2. Winslow scored the game winning run in the bottom of the seventh to advance to the second round of the tournament.
There they will face 13th seeded Chino Valley, which upset No. 4 Safford in their first round. The Cougars also defeated 19th seeded Florence in the state play-in game played on April 25.
Winslow will face Chino Valley at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 4, at the Rose Mofford Complex. With a win they would advance to the state semi-final round at 12 noon on Saturday, May 5. They would face either No. 1 River Valley or No. 9 Page in that contest should they get that far.
Winslow is currently 20-12 while Chino Valley has a season mark of 17-12.
