SUNSET REGION: Hager gets hot, Mountain Lions roll into title game

Jake Hager was mired in a hitting slump for the first three games of the Sunset Region playoffs.

Sierra Vista’s all-state shortstop broke out of it at the perfect time.

Hager went 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs to lead the Mountain Lions to a 22-1 rout of visiting Desert Oasis in five innings in the losers’ bracket final of the Sunset tournament.

“I’d been struggling the past three games,” Hager said. “It feels great to come out and swing the bat well. I didn’t want our season to end.”

Sierra Vista (34-3) will host Southwest League nemesis Bishop Gorman (31-4) in the Sunset finals at 1 p.m. Friday. The Mountain Lions would have to win twice to take the region title.

If the Mountain Lions lose Friday, they will meet the Sunrise runner-up in a play-in game to the Class 4A state tournament Saturday.

“That’s an insurance policy,” Sierra Vista coach Nate Selby said. “We’re going to try to win the games in front of us, but we understand that there might be another game Saturday.”

Hager, Sierra Vista’s senior leadoff hitter, went 0-for-10 in the first three games of the tournament. But the Arizona State signee was back to his usual form Thursday, hitting a three-run homer as part of a 12-run third inning before adding a two-run blast in the fourth.

“He’s got to play well for us to win. It was nice to get him going,” Selby said of Hager, who scored four runs.

Hager had plenty of help, as teammates Conner Klein, Scott Tomassetti and Alex Estrella each had two hits, two RBIs and three runs.

Sierra Vista batted around in the second and third innings, sending 17 batters to the plate in the third.

Starter Dusty Stevens tossed three scoreless innings to get the win, allowing two hits without a walk and striking out two.

“We have been very fortunate this year to have some pitching depth,” Selby said. “We’ve still got some arms, and we’ll make a run at it and see how we can do.”

Desert Oasis (21-12) enjoyed a breakout season that culminated in its first playoff appearance. But the Diamondbacks hurt themselves with five errors against Sierra Vista, including three in the ugly third inning.

Riley Smith doubled and scored on a Kyle Motis single in the fifth for the Diamondbacks.

Desert Oasis 8, Faith Lutheran 7 — Joe Paratore led off the top of the sixth with a home run to left field to break a 7-7 tie and help the Diamondbacks eliminate the Crusaders (17-17).

Desert Oasis’ Zane Killebrew went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to get the win.

Mike Maiello hit a three-run homer in the third inning for Desert Oasis.

Blake Matthias went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, two runs and two RBIs to lead Faith Lutheran.

Brendan Meyer was 2-for-3 with a double for the Crusaders, and Caleb Summerhays added a three-run homer in the fourth.