Gators rally to nip Wildcats

Green Valley's Casey Hicks knew his team needed a spark entering the bottom of the fifth inning Wednesday.

The host Gators trailed Las Vegas by four runs in the Sunrise Region baseball playoffs and were flirting with their first loss in the double-elimination tournament.

Green Valley responded with a four-run fifth highlighted by Hicks' two-run homer and went on to a 7-6 victory when Scott Arn singled home the winning run in the seventh.

"I got my confidence boosted up, and it got us excited," Hicks said of his game-tying shot to right field, which came on an 0-2 fastball with two outs. "From that point, we just fought and won the game."

Southeast League champion Green Valley (28-5) will host Northeast champion Rancho (28-3) at 4 p.m. today with a spot in the region final up for grabs.

"We were chipping away, and when he hits a two-run home run to make it 6-6, that sort of got our kids excited," Gators coach Nick Garritano said. "That was a huge swing in a huge moment."

Green Valley completed the rally with Arn's two-out single to deep center field to score Bobby Shiroky in the seventh.

The Gators overcame stranding seven runners in the first four innings.

"It was one of those games that wasn't pretty on our part, but to stay in the winners' bracket is huge," Garritano said. "It was a huge win for us."

Shiroky went 3-for-4 and scored two runs. Hicks, Rudy Strnad and Chad Whiteaker had two hits apiece.

Quinnton Mack was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs for the Wildcats (23-9), who will host Coronado (16-8-2) in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.

■ Rancho 3, Foothill 2 -- At Green Valley, Eric Holdren singled home Josh Gomez for the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Rams.

Scott Koenen and Gomez combined on a three-hitter.

Brandon Pletsch belted a solo home run to left field to tie the score 2-2 in the third inning. Holdren went 2-for-3.

Foothill's Jordan Stewart hit a two-run homer in the first inning -- his third home run in two playoff games. The Falcons (24-6) will meet Silverado (21-10) in an elimination game at 1 p.m. today at Las Vegas High.

■ Coronado 15, Valley 3 -- At Las Vegas, Taylor Giordano and Cody Giordano each had a home run during a seven-run fourth inning as the Cougars blasted the Vikings.

Matt Hall drove in four runs and had three hits, including a two-run triple. Miles Bice also had three hits, including two doubles, and had three RBIs for Coronado.

Hansel Escamilla drove in two of the three runs for Valley (14-15).

■ Silverado 11, Chaparral 1 -- At Las Vegas, Morgan Stotts, Michael Meyers, Drew Robinson and A.J. Ford each homered as the Skyhawks ended the Cowboys' season.

Silverado got four RBIs from Meyers and three hits each from Robinson and Stotts.

The first five hitters in Silverado's order -- Meyers, Robinson, Bobby Johnson, Stotts and Ford -- were a combined 10-for-15.

Stotts held Chaparral (14-14) to four hits while striking out five.

SUNSET REGION

■ Sierra Vista 9, Legacy 7 -- At Centennial, Blair Goldsack pitched out of two jams as the Mountain Lions (27-6) held off the Longhorns (22-9).

The junior right-hander struck out two with the bases loaded to end a sixth-inning rally, then fanned two with a runner in scoring position in the seventh.

"I think he feels about as comfortable as you can feel with guys on base in big situations," Sierra Vista coach Nate Selby said. "He doesn't shy away from it. We wish we wouldn't get ourselves in that spot, but if you get in that spot, it's better to get out of it than not."

The Mountain Lions will play Bishop Gorman at 4 p.m. today at Centennial, with the winner advancing to the tournament's championship game Saturday. Legacy will face Arbor View in an elimination game at 1 p.m. today at Sierra Vista.

Sierra Vista looked to be in pretty good shape after scoring three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 9-2 lead. But starter Dusty Stevens hit three batters and gave up a two-run double before giving way to Goldsack.

Goldsack gave up a two-run single to Andres Ortiz, then walked Donald Glover and hit Joey Lauria with the bases loaded to force in a run and make the score 9-7.

But Goldsack struck out Adam Thompson and Tyler Thurston to end the inning.

Goldsack gave up a one-out double to Zach Monticelli in the seventh but struck out Dylan Baumgarte and Pierce Skinner to end the game.

Scotty Tomassetti was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs and Armando Perez was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs for Sierra Vista.

■ Bishop Gorman 15, Bonanza 5 -- At Centennial, the Gaels (31-3) used a six-run first inning to take control and knock the Bengals into the losers' bracket.

After Bonanza (17-13) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run homer by Kris Bryant, the Gaels responded by batting around and scoring six runs to take the lead for good.

Neil Lawhorn, Johnny Sewald, T.J. White, Cory Welch and Kenny Meimerstorf each had two hits for Gorman.

Lawhorn had three RBIs, Sewald scored four runs, and Johnny Field drove in four runs for the Gaels.

Mario Franzese was 2-for-3 for Bonanza, which will play Spring Valley in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today at Sierra Vista.

■ Spring Valley 9, Palo Verde 5 -- At Sierra Vista, Johnny Hernandez was 4-for-4 with two runs to help the Grizzlies (16-10-1) eliminate the Panthers (16-15).

Jacob Schwartz was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Aaron Blair added two hits and two RBIs for Spring Valley.

Palo Verde's Zak Porter hit a seventh-inning grand slam.

■ Arbor View 8, Centennial 5 -- At Sierra Vista, the Aggies (21-10) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth and eliminated the Bulldogs (17-17).

Zach Quintana had a two-run double with one out in the sixth to give Arbor View a 6-5 lead, and the Aggies scored two more runs.

Centennial had tied the score in the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Blane Bevilacqua.

Quintana doubled twice, and winning pitcher Buddy Borden also homered.