Video: 6-foot-10 Mitchell Stone throws 94 mph
See the high heat coming out of OklahomaThe crooked numbers are having their say during the postseason on the diamond. As the baseball and softball seasons are down to a few precious outs, it has become clear that being the top seed hasn't meant a clear path to a championship.
It's nothing new.
The No. 1 seed usually has good performances and makes it deep into the tournament, but winning has never been a guarantee by any means. That has become especially clear in the top two divisions, which are played under a double-elimination format after the second round.
"There is just a lot of parity," Mountain Pointe baseball coach Brandon Buck said after his eighth-seeded Pride were eliminated by No. 14 Chaparral to make the final four in Division I. "There were a lot of good teams, but none that you could point to and say they are head and shoulders above everyone else."
It probably goes a long way in explaining why the highest seed remaining is No. 4 Sandra Day O'Connor along with No. 5 Mountain Ridge, No. 6 Hamilton and Chaparral.
Here is a look at how the No. 1 seeds have done entering Wednesday's Arizona playoff action. Click here to see the
Arizona baseball playoff brackets and click here to see the
Arizona softball playoff brackets.
Ray won it all in the Division V softball tournament.
Photo by Jim Willittes
Baseball
Division IBasha (Chandler) eliminated with a 1-2 record.
Division IIThunderbird (Phoenix) eliminated with a 2-2 record.
Division IIIAlhambra (Phoenix) alive in Friday's semifinals.
Division IVDesert Christian (Tucson) in Friday's semifinals.
Division VBagdad in Saturday's championship game.
Softball
Division IDesert Vista (Phoenix) has a 2-1 record heading into the consolation bracket's second round on Thursday.
Division IICanyon del Oro (Tucson) eliminated with a 1-2 record.
Division IIICibola (Yuma) lost in semifinals
Division IVBenson lost in semifinals
Division VRay (Kearny) won it all by beating No. 2 Santa Cruz Valley, 7-5 on Monday.
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic sports writer and current Prep Sports Director for Times Media Group, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com.