The 14u AZ Hotshots overcame a couple of weeks of rain to win the Lucky Challenge Qualifier last Sunday and earn a spot at the USSSA Nationals in Florida this summer.

Morgan Renyer pitched lights out all weekend for the Hotshots. The rubber arm mystified opponents on the way to three complete-game shutouts.

Renyer’s battery mate Erin Rocker also played well behind the plate. She caught three straight games in the heat on Sunday afternoon and did not allow a passed ball.

The Hotshots also came out swinging in the tournament, batting .506 as a team with 18 extra-base hits and only 12 strike outs in seven games. The team managed all of this despite not practicing in about two weeks due to the poor weather conditions, said coach Dan Renyer.

Number-nine batter Alyssa Thibodeau led the Hotshots in the championship game, smacking a three-run. go-ahead triple in the fourth.

For the tournament, the Hotshots received excellent showings from Brooke Homsey and Michalia Duarte. Homsey had three triples and 10 RBI. Duarte led the team with four walks and a .500 OBP.

Cleanup batter Ashley Hill also showed up with a big bat, connecting on her second career home run. It came in the second game against the AZ Suncats.

“We were really ecstatic to hit the ball as hard as we did,” said Renyer.

ATH for Wednesday:

Red Mountain High School’s softball program is gaining quite a reputation for producing the best catching talent in the state year after year.

In the past three years, Red Mountain has graduated three Division 1 catchers, including ASU freshman backstop Lucy Aubrecht and junior Lacy Goodman. Red Mountain grad Bree Ensminger also attracted D-1 attention after high school, signing with the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Although they have seemed to lose some big names in the past few years, the Mountain Lions still have three talented catchers currently on the roster: senior Taylor Beck, junior Caylee Price and sophomore Bri Gonzales. Beck made the 5A-1 East first-team all-region last season, while Price was selected to the second team.

Beck is already talking with several college programs, including Minnesota and Western Alabama, said Red Mountain head coach Richard Hamilton

“They call us Catcher University,” he said.

This output of quality catchers is no recent phenomenon. Kriste Romano graduated in 1999 and went on to play four years at Villanova.

Despite this great crop of catching talent, there is no real secret to Lions’ success, said Hamilton. While he has experience as a high school baseball catcher, there are no coaches on the staff with college or professional experience.

The Mountain Lions attend Corey Myers’ softball clinics at ASU to hone their skills and rely on the talent developed within the community, said Hamilton.

“They just kind of grow here,” he said.

ATH for Tuesday:

The Arcadia Titans have recovered from a slow start to the season and are poised to make a strong showing in the 4A East Sky conference when they begin facing divisional foes later this month.

After a 2-4 start to the season, the Titans improved their record to 8-4 thanks to a steady diet of home games during the Spring Break Tournament. With two games left in the tournament, Arcadia finds itself in the midst of a five game win streak.

Thus far in the season, the young Titans have struggled to gain their footing on the road, posting a 2-3 record away from home. However, an impressive road victory over a talented Saguaro Sabercats team last Thursday has the team confident in its ability to win away from Arcadia.

Arcadia will have to build off of the Saguaro victory if they hope to finish the season atop the Desert Sky standings. With league play beginning in a little over a week, the schedule has the Titans playing nine of their last 17 games away from home.

The Titans play a non-tournament game against Paradise Valley on Thursday and then conclude the Spring Training Tournament at Saguaro on Saturday before beginning conference play at Maricopa High School on March 23.

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