SUNRISE REGION: Miracle catch sends Patriots into finals

Liberty High softball coach Kris Jensen figured he was going to need a miracle to get his team past top-seeded Coronado Thursday.

He got one.

Jensen’s squad was clinging to a one-run lead with the potential game-tying run at third base and two outs when the Cougars’ Brianna Portese hit a sharp liner just over the head of Patriots first baseman Carson Cooper. Cooper leapt high into the air and deflected the ball just enough to allow second baseman Brittany Huff to make the catch for the game’s final out.

The unusual play helped the fourth-seeded Patriots secure an 8-7 win over Coronado in the winners’ bracket final of the Sunrise Region softball tournament at Coronado.

Liberty (22-10) advanced to Saturday’s 11 a.m. championship game at Bishop Gorman. The Cougars (30-3) will play either Las Vegas (16-13) or Foothill (18-11) in the losers’ bracket final at 5 p.m. Friday at Foothill.

“Brittany Huff is a diamond,” said Jensen, whose squad led 8-2 before allowing Coronado to rally for five runs in the bottom of the seventh. “No other second baseman is going to break full-sprint after a line drive to first base. She is a special breed.”

The Patriots took control early, scoring six runs off Cougars starter Lee Harrison in a second inning highlighted by Huff’s two-run single to right field.

The Cougars scored single runs in the second and sixth innings to close the deficit to 6-2, but Liberty again pulled away with the help of Huff’s RBI triple in a two-run seventh.

Patriots starter Francesca Foti came out flat in the bottom of the inning, however, and Coronado made the most of two hits, two walks, an error and a wild pitch to make it 8-7 when Danielle Amato’s liner to right field was dropped to score two runs.

“I was a little tired,” said Foti, who earned her third victory in as many days. “So I just tried to put it over the plate and let them hit it. I knew I had a good defense behind me.”

Jensen, whose team was the only team from Nevada to beat Coronado in the regular season, said his players’ confidence contributed to the win.

“I know Coronado scares a lot of teams,” he said. “But we’re a team that’s not afraid of Coronado.”

Las Vegas 7, Silverado 6 — At Foothill, Kristina Nelson’s bloop single to right field scored the winning run in the eighth inning to lift the Wildcats over the Skyhawks in an elimination game.

Silverado (13-8) led 5-2 in the fifth, but Las Vegas battled back and tied it with a run in the seventh. A two-run eighth gave the Wildcats the victory.

Nelson went 3-for-5 with two doubles to lead Las Vegas. Teammate Krizzel Galvez went 3-for-5 and tied the score at 6 with a hit in the eighth.

Taylee Heckman, Kaitlynn Crane and Kenna Turner each went 2-for-4 to lead Silverado.

Foothill 6, Rancho 2 — At Foothill, the Falcons’ Gabby Canibeyaz went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Falcons past the Rams in an elimination game.

Foothill jumped ahead with three runs in the third inning and added three more in the fourth. A two-run fifth-inning rally by Rancho fell short, and Falcons pitcher Alex Petrolia held on for the win.

Aly Lamboo went 2-for-3 to lead the Rams (18-16).

Foothill will host Las Vegas in the losers’ bracket semifinal at 3 p.m. Friday.