The High Desert Middle School softball team finished runner-up at the Central Junior High League softball tournament over the weekend in Eloy.

After advancing to the championship with an 11-0 upset of second-seeded Superior, the Lady Tigers fell to top-seeded Eloy Junior High School.

“We got a little fatigued there at the end (in the championship) but all in all, the girls played very, very well,” said High Desert coach Ed Mendoza. “We were on a roll and our bats were working (against Superior) but they didn’t work in the championship game.”

High Desert opened the playoffs with a big win over the Hayden Lobos before playing two games on Championship Saturday.

Mendoza tipped his hat to pitcher Arianna Navarro, who pitched both games on Saturday.

“The program is secured for the future and we’ll be back,” said Mendoza. “We had a lot of young players and we’ll be back.”

The Lady Tigers finished the season 8-3.

“We were successful; we beat every team we should have beaten. There was just one team we didn’t beat. but I’m pretty happy and we had a good year,” said Mendoza.