What to make of the Division I state baseballl tournament now that the field has been pared from 24 teams to 16.

Stunning to realize Hamilton, Brophy and Horizon are one-and-done after losses to Corona del Sol, Desert Vista and Cienega last Saturday in the first round. The Gilbert district qualified three teams in D-I (Desert Ridge, Gilbert High and Mesquite), a fourth just missed (Highland) and the other (Campo Verde) just missed in D-II. Gilbert and Mesquite had to play their way  to the second round and did. Desert Ridge was idle in the first round.

Ditto the Tempe district qualifying three schools (Corona del Sol, Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe). That trio earned no first-round byes, but all advanced to the round of 16. Southern Arizona had four teams qualify (Tucson High, Cienega, Sunnyside and Buena). Sunnyside eliminated Buena and is set to play No. 2 Tucson next. Cienega has a date in Scottsdale vs. top-seed Desert Mountain.

Here's a glance at the round of 16 for Tuesday April 30 -- another elimination round -- before double-elimination kicks in for the final eight teams. Game time for all contests is 4  p.m. unless otherwise noted:

No. 17 Cienega at No. 1 Desert Mountain: Cienega had its ace Jake Repavich shut down Horizon in the opening round wtih a complete game and eight strikeouts. The Bobcats will need something similar from junior Tom Shroder against Desert Mountain, which will be rested with its entire staff ready to work. Shroder produced a respectable 4-4 record and 2.28 ERA during the season. Desert Mountain has played just twice in the last 10 days. The Wolves won their final regular-season game behind the pitching of Cody Erickson, a 5-0 triumph over Horizon. 

No. 24 Corona del Sol vs. No. 8 St. Mary's at Tempe Diablo Complex #5: It's been an amazing five days or so for Corona. The Aztecs had to wait until late Thursday afternoon to find they qualified for state, then went out and beat Hamilton in the opening round. Hamilton knocked Corona around twice during the regular season. St. Mary's has been steady all season with solid pitching and although its schedule wasn't rigorous, it played well in games against the likes of Desert Mountain and Brophy.

No. 12 Gilbert at No. 5 Tolleson: Gilbert got a great draw in the first round and didn't fiddle around dispatching San Luis with its usual offensive flair. The Tigers are hurting with limited pitching so it's going to be up to their bats to keep them going. Josh Moore, Jack Zoellner and Travis Goodwin combined for 10 RBI in a 12-3 romp over San Luis. Tolleson recently blanked Sandra Day O'Connor, 2-0, so the Wolverines are looking to subdue Gilbert with pitching. Tolleson won 24 games and has a trio of solid pitchers led by senior Gabe Quintero. The Wolverines' pitchers aren't overpowering, but have good command. Sophomore Carlos Baldenegro blanked SDO.

No. 13 Mesquite at No. 4 Pinnacle: Mesquite was able to take advantage of its opening-round matchup with Cibola. Cibola struggled against five East Valley teams in a preason tourney in late February losing all five. Mesquite saved ace Matt Heibult and it paid off as Jake Harrington was plenty good to top Cibola, 10-0, in the opening round. Pinnacle faces Mesquite's ace in what should be a great round of 16 contest. Pinnacle has a very good offense led by seniors  Patrick Manahan, Brock Hartley, MJ Hubbs and Sam Welton.

No. 14 Mountain Pointe at No. 3 Desert Ridge: Mountain Pointe had a relatively easy time eliminating Marana Mountain View in the opening round as No. 1  Zach Cordova was staked to a big lead early and the Pride prevailed with a 9-5 win. Desert Ridge has won 15 consecutive games and figures to send 9-game winner Skyler Cohn to the mound to try and get the Jaguars off an running. Cohn is 9-1 with a 1.33 ERA. Mountain Pointe won the D-I title in 2011 and Desert Ridge won the second of its two state titles in 2010 by defeating Mountain Pointe that year.  

No. 21 Desert Vista at No. 6 Sandra Day O' Connor: Desert Vista pulled off one of those miraculous comebacks in beating Brophy, erasing a 10-1 deficit to win, 12-10, in extra innings. The Thunder spent a lot of pitching in that game. Whether or not they have enough to keep going is the question. SDO dropped only three games all season -- all in their final 10 games. SDO likely will throw ace Cameron Ming (7-1, 1.43 ERA). The Eagles played 13 games decided by two runs or less and won 12. Rested and multiple-pitching options give SDO an edge. However, Desert Vista has tangible proof  it can rally from way back if need be.

No. 10 Chaparral at No. 7 Millennium: Chaparral, the defending D-I champs, didn't have as far to rally back from as Desert Vista did to win its first-round game, but 11 runs combined in a the third and fourth innings turned a 5-1 deficit to a 12-3 advantage. Millennium knocked off Tolleson and Desert Ridge early in the season, but hasn't beaten any other D-I state qualifier since. The Tigers faced Chaparral three weeks ago and lost, 6-3. Millennium is liable to have its ace, Mike Tinucci, pitching in this one.

No. 15 Sunnyside at No. 2 Tucson (6:30 p.m at Cherry Field): Sunnyside won a nail-biter, getting a clutch offensive effort from Lazaro Nunez (three hits and four RBI) to knock off Buena. Nunez put Sunnyside up late 6-5, and then knocked in the winner in the seventh. Sunnyside faced Tucson twice times during the season and should  face Badgers' ace Alex Robles, who owned the Blue Devils in one start this season (a two-hit, 8-0 triumph). Robles is 8-0 with a 1.51 ERA. Tucson limited Sunnyside's offense  again later in the season with a 4-2 victory behind Ryan Norrix.