Payson and Catalina Foothills share a deep sense of frustration but in remarkably different ways. While the Longhorns have been in the mix for a state championship four years running as either a 2-seed or a top seed, the Falcons have been absent from the playoffs since 2009 and have not played for a title since 2001.

This year, Payson came into the Division III state championship held at Farrington Stadium Tuesday night as 5 seed but the result was the same as No. 7 Catalina Foothills came away with an 8-0 win.

Catalina Foothills struck first after Micayala Brooke drew a leadoff walk and Marisa Garcia knocked her in two outs later after Natalie Stevens sacrificed her over to second base. Down 1-0, the Longhorns threatened with back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first by Jewel Johnson and Aubrie Paulson but Nic Conway picked up three strikeouts to end the threat.

Conway (23-6) came in with 288 strikeouts on the year with an incredible 1.10 ERA and Paulson (13-6) was equally impressive with 215 strikeouts to her name but the Falcon batters kept on coming.

Megan Kelch starting things off agian in the top of the second with a triple and then Lilli Wright was walked. Paulson collected two outs but Brooke followed with a single up the middle to score Kelch. An error on the throw to get Brooke was misplayed, allowing another run to score.

Stevens doubled to deep center to score Brooke then Conway knocked in Stevens. The Falcons found themselves up 5-0, seemingly more than enough with Conway in the circle but Johnson tested her again in the third with a mssive double. Still, Conway held and the Longhorns came up empty again.

Both teams played a scoreless third but Catalina Foothills was in business again in the fourth after Myranda Escobar was hit-by-pitch to start the inning off. Brooke reached on a scrifice bunt that was misplayed and Conway made the Longhorns pay with an RBI single to score Escobar. Garcia followed with another hit to score Brooke and Catalina Foothills took a 7-0 lead.

Conway was getting stronger as the game went on and her offense attempted to keep pace with her but Paulson stranded two runners in the fifth to keep the Longhorns in the game. Catalina Foothills added another run in the seventh after Wright doubled and Kathryn Lucio followed with another double one out later.

Conway finished with 14 strikeouts which gave her 302 on the year. Conway moved to Tucson from Dallas and she landed at Catalina Foothills. Perhaps it was luck but many in the softball world saw it as a curse.

"When I moved here from Dallas and people found out I was going to Catalina Foothills they felt bad for me," Conway explained. "I wondered why we didn't have a different mindset. They were happy not getting run-ruled. We had to change that right away. We had to set our goal of winning this year an we achieved it."

As for Payson, the Longhorns will be back with their two pitchers entering their junior year. Curtis Johnson has been here before. The second-year coach returned three starters from last year's team and the future looks bright again.

"I'm a little disappointed we didn't show up tonight, Johnson said. "It's really difficult to get to a championship game but I'm excited for next year. I am proud of what they did this year and I'm looking forward to what they will do."

Mark Stevens is in his third year at Catalina Foothills. He brought a new sense of winning to the program and he found a partner in Conway. Only a sophomore herself, perhaps we will see them here again next year.

 

Game photos will be available at MaxPreps.com