TEMPE — Gilbert Mesquite pitchers Sebastian Granillo and Luis Morales didn't let the noise from the huge Salpointe Catholic following rattle them.
Over and over, they got out of jams, combining to lead Mesquite to a 2-1 victory Monday night for the Class 4A baseball championship at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
Salpointe (20-4) left 15 base runners stranded, 11 in the final four innings.
Mesquite (23-1) avenged the 4-3 loss to Salpointe in the 2019 4A final, the last time a 4A baseball title game was held.
This was coach Jeff Holland's fifth trip to the state championship game.
"The five I've been in, this was the most tense," he said.
This was Mesquite's first state title since 2015, when Holland's team beat Peoria Liberty 5-2.
Salpointe Catholic players watch Mesquite players hug after they won the 4A State Championship game 2-1 at Diablo Stadium in Tempe Monday May, 17, 2021.
Chris Robles drove in the only runs Mesquite would need on a sacrifice fly in the second and a single in the fourth to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
Salpointe threatened in the fourth, loading the bases with two outs. But Sebastian Granillo was able to strike out catcher Gabe Preble swinging to end the inning.
Granillo left with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning. In the fourth and fifth, Granillo worked out of bases-loaded jams to get leadoff hitter Gabe Preble to strike out in the fourth and Mason White to fly out in the fifth.
Morales threw a wild pitch that allowed Salpointe's only run to cross, before intentionally walking Jack Rogers and getting R.J. Molina to pop out at third.
In the seventh, Salpointe had runners on first and second with two outs, before Morales got Preble to pop out to second to end the game, setting off a dog-pile celebration at second base.
