4A-I Baseball State Tournament
When: Saturday through May 15 (single elimination)
Where: First round at higher seed; Quarterfinals at Camelback Ranch-Glendale Stadium (10710 W. Camelback Rd., Phoenix) or Surprise Stadium (15850 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise); Semifinals and Championship at Camelback Ranch-Glendale Stadium.
Saturday’s schedule: 11 a.m.: No. 16 Raymond Kellis at No. 1 Canyon del Oro; No. 9 Sunrise Mountain at No. 8 Apollo; No. 12 Catalina Foothills at No. 5 Nogales; No. 13 Sabino at No. 4 Prescott; No. 14 McClintock at No. 3 Copper Canyon; No. 11 Cienega at No. 6 Sunnyslope; No. 10 Sahuaro at No. 7 Cactus Shadows; No. 15 Queen Creek vs. No. 2 Saguaro.
Favorite: Canyon del Oro — The Dorados are the defending champions and won 25 of 27 regular season games this year.
Darkhorse: McClintock — The Chargers have played the second-toughest schedule among playoff teams. They’d like to make a run for coach Harold Bull, who is retiring after the season.
Outlook: Tucson teams Sahuaro and Sabino have always shown the capability to put it together come tournament time. East Valley teams like Saguaro and Cactus Shadows will undoubtedly be in the mix as well, but Canyon del Oro has the combination of hitting and pitching to fare well in this tournament.
