Yuma Catholic falls short in 3A softball state championship against Tanque Verde

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Yuma Catholic Shamrocks came up short in their quest for the program's first softball state championship Monday night, falling to Tanque Verde 10-0 in six innings at Grand Canyon University.

The loss marked another heartbreaking finish for the Shamrocks, who were making their second straight appearance in the 3A title game.

Tanque Verde's offense eventually broke open a tightly contested defensive battle early on, while Hawks ace and UConn commit Claire Achilles dominated in the circle.

Achilles threw a complete-game one-hitter and struck out 13 batters to help secure the first softball state championship in school history for the seventh-seeded Hawks.

Yuma Catholic showed signs early that it could hang with Tanque Verde defensively.

Freshman pitcher Kayla Price helped the Shamrocks work out of trouble in the opening inning after fielding a ball in front of the circle and chasing down Emily Ryan in a rundown to end the frame.

The game remained scoreless through the first couple innings before Tanque Verde broke through in the third. Ryan delivered a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Ella Haggard to score the game’s first run.

From there, the Hawks took complete control.

Tanque Verde piled on 10 runs and ended the game by run rule in the sixth inning, while Yuma Catholic struggled to generate offense against Achilles.

After the game, Shamrocks head coach Jarred Lackey took responsibility for the loss and reflected on another championship defeat.

"I have never felt this far away from knowing about coaching softball as I do right now," Lackey said. "Obviously didn't have the girls ready to play."

Lackey also pointed to the offensive struggles Yuma Catholic has faced in recent title appearances.

"Two years in a row, I'm responsible for us scoring runs and in the championship, we're shut out," Lackey said. "Obviously, I've got a lot to learn and I need to figure it out quick so I can help get these girls over the top."

Despite the loss, the future remains bright for Yuma Catholic. The Shamrocks graduate just three seniors from this year's roster and are expected to return much of the team that made another deep postseason run.

"Luckily, this team is a very young team," Lackey said. "As long as I can figure out how to help them get over the hump, that's the key."

Yuma Catholic reached the championship game after postseason wins over Snowflake and top-seeded Valley Christian before their season came to an end Monday night.