Gators rout Wildcats, force semifinal rematch

Green Valley High's Tyler Blair doesn't mind having his back against the wall.

For the second straight night the Gators faced elimination Thursday, and for the second straight night Blair came up big.

Blair went 4-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Green Valley to a seven inning, 17-6 victory over Las Vegas in the American Legion state baseball tournament at Wilson Stadium.

The win forced a semifinal rematch against the Wildcats. The winner of that game, which will be played at 5 p.m. today, will face Bishop Gorman or Sierra Vista for the championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

"It's more dramatic this way," said Blair, whose team fell into the losers' bracket early in the tournament. "I think it's more fun. I'm seeing the ball well, and I'm in a zone."

He began seeing the ball well Wednesday, when he went 4-for-4 with five RBIs to lead the Gators to a 13-3 win over Reno. By Thursday, his groove had become contagious.

"Tyler's been kind of leading the way in the middle of our lineup," Green Valley coach Levi Matherly said. "It's great to have a guy who loves to compete like that. He's doing a great job."

The Wildcats kept it close early, tying the score 4-4 on an RBI single by Hansel Escamilla.

But they unraveled in the bottom of the fifth, surrendering eight runs on six hits while committing five errors. Zack Vergiels provided the inning's highlight with a two-run triple to help Green Valley take a 12-4 lead.

Las Vegas stayed alive with two runs in the seventh, but Bobby Shiroky's towering three-run homer in the bottom of the inning gave the Gators the win on the 10-run rule.

Chad Whiteaker and Cameron Harper each had three hits to help the Gators, and starter Alec Hutt allowed five hits while striking out seven to get the win.

■ Sierra Vista 12, Bishop Gorman 6 -- Matt Holman went 4-for-4 with a double to help the Lions rally to upset the four-time defending state champion Titans.

Sierra Vista will play Gorman again at 8 p.m. today, with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship game.

The Titans led 6-1 after six innings, but the Lions answered with three runs in the seventh and three in the eighth to take control.

Sierra Vista reliever Jake Hager got the win, entering in the seventh and holding the Titans scoreless in the final three innings.

Connor Klein went 3-for-6 to help the Lions, who collected 18 hits.