The state of Arizona has never seen anything like this in a team sport like softball. No. 2 Salpointe already has the state record for consecutive championships at six in a row starting in 2018 and now the program is playing for their seventh straight championship trophy after beating No. 5 Mica Mountain 8-1 Thursday night in the semifinal round held at Amphitheater High School.

Salpointe (24-6-1) will be playing No. 1 Coconino (29-4) Saturday night at Farrington Stadium located on the ASU campus for the 4A state championship. The game time is set for 7 p.m. and it will be streamed live on NFHS Network. Coconino beat No. 14 Poston Butte 13-2 in the other semifinal game held in Prescott and Poston Butte finished 21-11 on the year.

The game with Mica Mountain played even until the bottom of the second with Lilly Mann hitting a home run to start the order off and Soli Ramos scored on a wild pitch later in the inning for a 2-0 lead. Jocelyn Gastellum picked up an RBI, scoring Alyssa Montano, in the bottom of the fourth to make it 3-0 but Shaylee Fuell knocked in Dezeree Lopez Taylor to cut the lead down to 3-1 in the top of the fifth.

Molli Daley hit a home run in the bottom half of the fifth and Brooke Wild brought in Isabel Otero to make it 5-1 and then CC Moraga scored Wild to make it 6-1. Sarah Camp hit the foul pole down the third base line in the bottom of the sixth to bring in Iza Palomarez and herself for the 8-1 final.

Audri Elias (11-1) got the start in the circle for the Lancers and she picked up two strikeouts for the win in 4 2/3 innings pitched and Macee Jackson (10-5) finished out the night for Salpointe, adding five more strikeouts. Moraga went 3-3 with an RBI and Wild went 2-3 with a double and an RBI. For the Thunderbolts, Acelynn-Rose Heston (15-6) took the circle and Fuell and Riley Johnson had the two hits for Mica Mountain.

MIca Mountain split the regualr season with Salpointe but the Lancers won the rubber match in the 4A semifinal round Thursday night. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

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