SUNRISE BASEBALL: Green Valley holds off gritty Patriots

Green Valley coach Corey Gehlken has had plenty of tight games in his career, and he shows off the gray hair to prove it.

Gehlken may have added more gray after the finish at Liberty on Wednesday in the Sunrise Region tournament.

The Gators enjoyed a three-run lead but had to stop a furious Patriots rally in the seventh inning to hold off the defending state champs, 11-10.

Green Valley led 11-8 going into the home half of the seventh, when things got very interesting.

Gators reliever Thomas Rivera hit Nick Woolery and Jacob Rogers after getting one out, then Frankie Fitzgerald walked Brandon Soratos to load the bases.

“It wasn’t the way we wanted to open the seventh, that’s for sure,” Gehlken said. “It’s always a battle when we play Liberty, and we know its a fight to the end.”

After Nick Rush went down on strikes, Johnny Gilleres hit a liner to center to score two runs and pull Liberty within one.

Gehlken then decided to walk Preston Pavlica for the second time in the game. Pavlica homered earlier, a solo blast during a four-run Liberty third inning.

“I know it was a bold move walking him, putting the tying run in scoring position,” Gehlken said. “The way I see it, when Pavlica is at the plate, as good of a hitter as he is, he’s always in scoring position.”

The move turned out perfect for Green Valley, as Justin Lutes grounded to third base to end the game.

“These kids continue to battle, and I’m so proud of them,” said Gehlken, whose team led 7-2 entering the bottom of the third. “We didn’t panic once they got back into the game, we kept our heads and kept swinging the bat.”

Pavlica’s home run highlighted the four-run third, and Liberty (20-10) was within a run at 7-6. The Patriots tied the game in the fourth without a hit, as Pavlica walked, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on an error.

The Gators answered with four runs in the fifth on RBIs by Eric Sampson, Jarrett Perns and Jarod Penniman.

Nick Woolery homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth to make it 11-8.

Perns was 4-for-5, including a double for Green Valley (26-6). Gavin Morley, Jimmy Montiel and Sampson each scored twice for the Gators, who will face Basic (27-4) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas High.

Gilleres had four singles for Liberty. Pavlica and Trevor Mullaney each had two RBIs for the Patriots, who play Silverado (21-9) in an elimination game at 1 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas.

Basic 7, Coronado 0 — At Basic, Tanner Roundy and Trever Berg combined on a four-hitter as the Wolves defeated the Cougars.

Roundy allowed three hits over six innings before giving way to Berg.

Cory Wills went 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run and an RBI for Basic.

David Hudleson was 2-for-4 for the Wolves, and teammate Logan Green was 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Coronado (16-15) will play Rancho (10-23) in an elimination game at 10 a.m. Thursday at Las Vegas.

Rancho 8, Las Vegas 7 — At Las Vegas, Zach Barnhart doubled to lead off the ninth inning, and Kavion Kealoha drove him home with a base hit to help the Rams nip the Wildcats.

Robert Spinelli struck out the side for Rancho in the bottom of the ninth, and finished with the win.

Barnhart was 4-for-5 with three doubles, four runs and an RBI, and Kealoha went 3-for-4 with a double, a run and five RBIs for the Rams.

Jaime Solis and Eddie Ojeda each had two singles and a double for Las Vegas, which finished 15-16.

Silverado 15, Canyon Springs 0 — At Silverado, James Skelly, Justin DeLeon and Ryan Pappas combined on a one-hitter as the Skyhawks eliminated the Pioneers (10-21) in five innings.

Vincent Taormina went 3-for-3 with a triple, a double, three RBIs and two runs, and Dillon Johnson had a triple, a double, two RBIs and two runs for Silverado.

Payton Ballard and Dax Fellows each tripled for the Skyhawks, who got two hits, a run and an RBI from Blake Zorne.

Carlos Alcala singled in the second inning for Canyon Springs’ lone hit.