Liberty storms past Foothill

Liberty High's Francesca Foti took a secret onto the field Wednesday.

The sophomore pitcher was battling severe cold symptoms and wasn't certain she would be able to play.

Foothill never noticed.

Foti overcame her illness to strike out 12 batters and helped herself by going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs to lead Liberty to an 8-2 victory over the Falcons in the Sunrise Region playoffs at Majestic Park.

The win lifted the Patriots into today's semifinal round, where they will play Green Valley at 6 p.m.

"I'm sick right now, but I think I actually play better when I'm sick," Foti said. "I think I play better when I'm under pressure. It was hard to breathe, but I just worked through it."

Foti's teammates made her job a little easier by providing run support, starting in the first inning. Megan Patras lined an RBI single to left field in the first to give Liberty a 1-0 lead.

Diana Cassaro helped the Patriots go ahead 4-0 in the third by driving in two runs with a single to left field.

Foothill (17-13) scored a run in the fourth and another in the seventh, but Liberty's four-run seventh gave Foti some breathing room. Carson Cooper's home run in the sixth sealed the victory for the Patriots (23-8).

Liberty coach Kris Jensen said he never doubted Foti would come through, even with the health concerns.

"She's been a go-to spark plug for us this year," he said. "She's pretty much been the pitcher who has won all our big games."

Cassandra English went 2-for-3 for the Patriots, and teammate Megan Patras went 2-for-4.

Foothill's Myranda Mortel and Aricia Dami each had two hits.

■ Green Valley 2, Basic 1 -- A key ninth-inning error by the Wolves put Alicia Firelein at third base, and Carly Aughney drove her in with a single to right field to give the Gators a dramatic extra-inning win.

Green Valley (26-6) scored a run in the first, but the Wolves knotted the score with one in the fifth, and it remained 1-1 until Aughney's heroics in the ninth.

Desiree Laswell went the distance for Green Valley, tossing a six-hitter to get the victory.

Firelein led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance.

The Wolves (19-6) will play Las Vegas (21-9) in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.

■ Valley 4, Eldorado 3 -- Winning pitcher Mickayla Romero drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the fifth, and the Vikings (16-13) held on to complete a comeback victory over the Sundevils.

Taylor Schroeder went 2-for-3 to help Eldorado, which scored three runs in the first inning.

Eldorado (15-15) was eliminated.

■ Las Vegas 4, Rancho 1 -- Monique Hernandez threw a one-hitter, striking out 13, to help the Wildcats (21-9) eliminate the Rams (11-20).

Hernandez also went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and teammate Jasmina Salas went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

SUNSET REGION

■ Legacy 2, Arbor View 1 -- Playing in the second postseason game in school history, Legacy (27-3) advanced to its first winners' bracket final of the Sunset Region tournament by defeating the Aggies -- and nearly did it without a hit.

"Hard work got this one done," Legacy coach Dan Casel said. "We've done it in big spots all year. We've just come through in the clutch. We come through when we need to.

"Now we're the first team to get to the winners' bracket finals."

The Longhorns answered Arbor View's run in the top of the fifth with two in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead before collecting their only hit of the game.

Sierra Pico and Legacy's defense took care of the rest. Pico allowed three hits, struck out eight and got a game-ending unassisted double play from shortstop Darcey Cochran to advance the Longhorns into the winners' bracket final against Palo Verde at 6 p.m. today.

Legacy's Danielle Pick worked a seven-pitch walk to start the bottom of the fifth and scored when Katrina Rand's bunt was thrown down the right-field line.

Rand went to third on the play and scored on Danielle Fuller's squeeze bunt. Arbor View fielded the bunt cleanly and threw home, but Rand appeared to beat the tag.

Two batters later, No. 9 hitter Hannah Weld singled through the left side -- the only hit allowed by Aggies pitcher Amanda Jones, who struck out eight.

Nichole Diaz had two hits for Arbor View, including an RBI single in the fifth to score Kristina Billante.

The Aggies (18-8) will meet Centennial in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.

■ Palo Verde 3, Durango 0 -- Melissa McCormick tossed a two-hitter and struck out 14, including eight of the first nine Durango batters, as the Panthers (25-7) advanced to meet Legacy in the winners' bracket final.

■ Centennial 10, Clark 5 -- Taylor Huntly and Alyssa Finger each homered to help the Bulldogs (20-12-1) overcome an early 3-0 deficit and eliminate the Chargers (16-15).

Huntly, Finger, Camille Castro and Alyssa Hotman each had two hits for Centennial, which scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to break a 5-5 tie.

Anna Jaehn was 2-for-4 for Clark.

■ Bonanza 13, Desert Oasis 3 -- Alex Teed doubled twice and had two RBIs, and the Bengals' Nos. 8 and 9 hitters reached base four times each as Bonanza (20-10-1) eliminated the Diamondbacks (17-16).

Michelle Miller was 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs and two RBIs for Bonanza. Taylor Gordy, Jessica Delp and Emily Osborn had two hits apiece for the Bengals.

Holly O'Hara went 2-for-2 for Desert Oasis.