TEMPE - Monday night’s 5A conference state softball championship was Desert Mountain’s opportunity to cement itself as one of the state’s greatest softball dynasties. 

Behind star junior pitcher Lilly Goodwin, the top seeded Wolves fhoisted the gold trophy at Arizona State University’s Farrington Stadium for the third straight year, following a 4-0 victory over Tucson Canyon Del Oro.

“I don't think anything at this level matches playing for a championship. I mean having everybody in the stands cheer for you, whether they're here for the game or for you, or whether they're rooting against you. 
I mean, having those people here cheer, it’s a lot. It's so loud, I can’t hear myself think, but it's still so fun,” said Goodwin.

Goodwin did a little bit of everything for  her team, driving in the first two runs of the contest on a one-out single up the middle in the third inning. 

“So I wanted to be in the middle of action from the very beginning, which is why I wanted to pitch. 
I also caught, but I love pitching. 
It was my first love. I love hitting too now and those RBI’s were nice,” said Goodwin.

Before Goodwin could get the Wolves on the board, senior Cyan De Luigi ripped off a triple to right field and junior Emmy Raines reached first base on a walk then stole second base. 

In the fifth inning, senior Zoe Horning punctuated her final high school game with a deep double to center field that drove in fellow senior McKinsey Beyer, who was running for Goodwin as a courtesy runner.

“I love my seniors and I've been playing with them for three or two years, and I just couldn't imagine a better end to the season. I'm so proud of all of them. Even the ones that didn't get in the field, Zoe, especially. She's my, like, honorary sister,” said Goodwin. 

In total, the Wolves attempted five steals and their aggressive base running style led to multiple infield singles as it kept the Dorados defense on its heels. 

“We’re aggressive, and something in it creates opportunities for us. Like I said, it’s not always going to work, but our kids believe in it. They're going to go all out on it,” said Desert Mountain Coach Chris Fredericks.

Goodwin struck out 17 batters and surrendered only four hits to #3 Canyon del Oro (32-4), her most dominant championship performance so far  in a game billed as a pitcher's duel betweeen her and Dorados senior strikeout machine Amelia Streuber.

It was Goodwin’ eleventh time this season eclipsing 14 or more strikeouts and she finished the 2025 season with a 0.37 ERA, 319 strikeouts, and a 20-0 record.

“I mean, that kid is always on. 
She's always out there, to compete, she wants to win. She's just a ruthless competitor out there” said Fredericks. 

From the beginning of the season there was little doubt that the Wolves were at the top of Arizona's heap with Goodwin and its talented senior class. 

The Wolves finished the season at 30-1-1 and entering the championship game were ranked No. 23 in the country by MaxPreps.

The postseason backed up that theory.

In Desert Mountain’s five playoff games, the Wolves outscored opponents 39-4. 

“We don't have cancers in the dugout and on the team we have great people that come, they want to work, and they want to compete. and they're willing to make the sacrifices that they need to do that, doing all the right things, and then we get to reap the rewards of it,” said Fredericks.