There was no panic in Ironwood Ridgeβs dugout on Saturday, when visiting Mountain View took a two-run lead early, in the opening round of the Division II state tournament.
Instead, senior Nick Estrella and the host Nighthawks buckled down to get the job done and live another day.
Estrella closed the game out with four shutout innings on the mound as 10th-seeded I-Ridge rallied to beat No. 23 Mountain View 5-3, advancing to play seventh-seeded Sunnyside in a win-or-go-home second-round game.
βWeβre happy as a staff that those kids are walking off this field for the last time with a win and a good taste in their mouth,β I-Ridge coach Dennis Toia said. βThey put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this field.β
The winner of Tuesdayβs 4 p.m. showdown moves on to the eight-team, double-elimination stage of the Division II state tournament.
Mountain View went ahead 3-1 in the top of the third on Saturday but the Nighthawks got right back in the mix when senior Derek Daly hit a game-tying two-run single with two outs in bottom of the fourth.
βMy approach was just to put the ball in play and it worked out for the best,β Daly said.
Dalyβs hit came one batter after junior Greg Brown walked to load the bases; seniors Adam Mays and Christian Pearcy both had one-out singles earlier in the frame to get on base.
βThe mindset was to not let it be the end of the season,β said Mays, who had a team-high three hits. βItβs pretty nice, it feels good to get the last win at home.β
I-Ridge (19-7-2) regained the lead one inning later, when Mays hit a full-count RBI single with two outs to score senior Jared McKemy. Estrella made it 5-3 with an RBI double in his final at-bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, before retiring the side to seal the win.
βIt was a cushion run, it felt good,β Estrella said. βIt helped me out on the mound; I wasnβt really worried and I knew I could give up a run. I was good to end my senior season at home with a good hit there.β
Saturdayβs win avenged a 12-7 loss to Mountain View on April 5. It also give the Nighthawks a chance to get Sunnyside back for a 3-0 in their first regular-season game.
The Blue Devils had a first-round bye and are coming off back-to-back wins.
Toia said the key to moving on will be using the same formula they used on Saturday.
βPitch and play defense, get some timely hits,β Toia said. βI know theyβre going to pitch and play defense.β
β Daniel Gaona
Contreras goes the distance as Tucson wins in 11 innings
No one told the Tucson High and Scottsdale Notre Dame baseball teams that playoff games between a No. 9 seed and a No. 24 seed arenβt supposed to be close.
The ninth-seeded Badgers narrowly defeated the No. 24 Saints 2-1 in 11 innings on Saturday to advance to the second round of the Division II state tournament.
The Badgers will hit the road to face No. 8 Buckeye Verrado Vipers on Tuesday in the second round. Tucson joined Ironwood Ridge as the only other local winner in Division II action Saturday but Canyon del Oro, Salpointe Catholic and Sunnyside each had a first-round bye.
Tucson (17-8) had the winning run in scoring position several times in extra innings but couldnβt push across the winning run until the 11th inning when junior catcher Fabian Ferreira singled to right field to bring in the winning run from second base with ease.
However, if not for the marvelous game from senior starting pitcher Jose Contreras, the Badgers wouldnβt have had the opportunity to win in the 11th inning. Contreras allowed one run and struck out 12 batters for the complete-game win.
Contreras struck out the final batter in five of the first seven innings and had several clean frames in extra innings to keep his team in the game. His dominance on the mound was apparent from the first inning, all the way to the 11th inning.
βIt was a matter of time before we broke through,β Tucson High coach Oscar Romero said. βI donβt think anyone was going to beat Jose the way he was throwing today. He found a way to get every big out at the end.β
β Roberto Payne
Foothills upset by Mesa Westwood in D-II playoffs
Catalina Foothills' season came to end on Saturday afternoon as its couldnβt handle Mesa Westwoodβs offensive onslaught in the first round of the Division II state tournament.
βThat was a darn good team,β Foothills coach Jim Baldwin said. βThat was the best team we faced all year with two strikes. They battled and battled every two strike and they won the game because of two strikes I think, they just put the ball in play.β
No. 19 Westwood travels to play at No. 3 Salpointe Catholic in the second round on Tuesday.
The Warriors have won six games in a row and 14th-seeded Foothills ends the season losing three of its last four.
Westwood scored in all but two innings on Saturday. The host Falcons responded to a 4-1 deficit after one and a half innings though and pulled to within one run after the sixth.
Junior utility player Fernando Gonzalez and sophomore outfielder Chris Kowalcek both hit RBI doubles for Foothills.
Baldwin said it was just one of those days for the Falcons.
βThere was a couple breaks," Baldwin said. "The wind was blowing in a couple times, we should have probably had two home runs that were to the fence. The flag was blowing out two seconds before that, thatβs the breaks of the game."
β James Kelley
POSTSEASON GLANCE
BASEBALL
DIVISION II STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, double-elimination after second round. Winner-take-all championship game)
Saturdayβs first-round results
No. 9 Tucson 2, No. 24 Scottsdale Notre Dame 1 (11 innings)
No. 10 Ironwood Ridge 5, No. 23 Mountain View 3
No. 19 Mesa Westwood 7, No. 14 Catalina Foothills 5
No. 21 Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain 8, No. 21 Sierra Vista Buena 2
No. 11 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows 9, No. 22 Cienega 3
Second round β Tuesday, 4 p.m.
No. 19 Mesa Westwood at No. 3 Salpointe Catholic
No. 11 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows at No. 6 Canyon del Oro
No. 10 Ironwood Ridge at No. 7 Sunnyside
No. 9 Tucson at No. 8 Buckeye Verrado
DIVISION III STATE TOURNAMENT
(32 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 2 Nogales 7, No. 31 Empire 0
No. 7 Sahuarita 4, No. 26 Glendale Cactus 1
No. 17 Payson 8, No. 16 Rio Rico 7
No. 12 Phoenix Washington 8, No. 21 Walden Grove 7
Saturdayβs second-round results
No. 7 Sahuarita 7, No. 10 Maricopa 1
No. 18 Phoenix Northwest Christian 5, No. 2 Nogales 2
Quarterfinals β Friday at Surprise Baseball Complex
No. 18 Phoenix Northwest Christian vs.Β No. 7 Sahuarita, 6 p.m.
DIVISION IV STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 12 Catalina 4, No. 21 Flagstaff Northland Prep 2
No. 13 Benson 4, No. 20 Tempe Prep 0
No. 18 Phoenix Valley Christian 9, No. 15 Tanque Verde 3
No. 22 Amphitheater 12, No. 11 Chinle 0
Saturdayβs second-round results
No. 1 Desert Christian 12, No. 17 Morenci 2
No. 7 Pueblo 7, No. 10 Sedona Red Rock 1
No. 5 Yuma Catholic 2, No. 12 Catalina 1
No. 4 Apache Junction 8, No. 13 Benson 7
No. 6 Buckeye 5, No. 22 Amphitheater 0
Quarterfinals β Friday at Goodyear Baseball Complex
No, 8 Camp Verde vs. No. 1 Desert Christian, 6 p.m.
No. 7 Pueblo vs. No. 2 Glendale Joy Christian, 6 p.m.
DIVISION V STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 10 Elfrida Valley Union 18, No. 23 Sanders Valley 2 (5 innings)
No. 11 St. Augustine Catholic 10, No. 22 Mogollon 0 (5 innings)
No. 9 Kearny Ray 11, No. 24 Tombstone 7
Saturdayβs second-round results
No. 4 Bisbee 12, No. 20 Winterhaven (California) San Pasqual 5
No. 7 Superior 12, No. 10 Elfrida Valley Union 8
No. 6 Miami 11, No. 11 St. Augustine Catholic 1 (5 innings)
Quarterfinals β Friday at Tempe Diablo Baseball Complex
No. 5 Eloy Santa Cruz vs. No. 4 Bisbee, 6 p.m.
