Andrea Reyes went 21-3 from the circle as a senior, including a 1-0 victory over Fountain Hills in the 3A state final to give Eloy Santa Cruz its third state championship in the spring of 2000. That championship game took eight innings but it looked like the Dust Devils had a much easier go of it Tuesday night when the program defeated Coolidge 15-4 to give Reyes (now Andrea James) her 300th victory as the head coach.

James went on to coach the Dust Devils to a state championship in 2006 and another in 2008. The Dust Devils took runner-up to Ray in 2016 and the team appears to be rolling again this spring with a No. 4 ranking heading into the game with Coolidge and a 5-1 record in power-ranking games.

The 2A Conference Play-In Tournament is slated for May 3 with the games set to be played at the higher seed. The top two teams in each region will get a berth in the play-in phase at the minimum. The first round of the state playoffs is scheduled for May 6 at Rose Mofford.

For Santa Cruz, Tatiyana Reyes went 2-3 with 3 RBI and a home run, Miranda Tapia went 3-3 with a triple, Jianna Lopez went 2-3 with an RBI, Jocelyn Melendez went 2-2, Rhaylyn Tarango went 3-4 with 2 RBI, Isabella Davis had a double and 4 RBI and Ylianna Velazco had an RBI double. Tarango picked up the win.

For Coolidge, Brina Madrid went 3-3 with 2 RBI and a triple, Karen Garcia had an RBI, Tash Juan had a double and an RBI, Destiny Joaquin went 2-2 with a triple and Morgan Powers took the circle.

Santa Cruz hosts Sequoia Pathway (0-1) Wednesday night and Coolidge with host Thatcher (2-3).

NOTE: Santa Cruz also won state championships in 1979 and 1980 under Rosie Starks. Ernie Montijo coached the 2000 championship game.