Pico’s bat, arm propel Legacy

Sierra Pico needed only three plate appearances and 10 pitches to put on a hitting clinic Thursday.

Legacy's sophomore pitcher covered both sides of the plate, anticipated the pitch she would see in each at-bat and drove in all three of her team's runs, including a tiebreaking solo home run in the sixth inning.

For good measure, Pico pitched a four-hitter to lift Legacy into the Sunset Region championship game with a 3-2 victory over Palo Verde at Majestic Park.

The Longhorns (28-3) will face Palo Verde (25-8) or Durango (23-8) in the final of the double-elimination tournament at 5 p.m. today. If Legacy loses, it will get a second chance to win the region and earn a trip to state in a game at 7.

"She was swinging a good bat the first two at-bats, and I just told her to go up there and be aggressive and look for something to drive," Legacy coach Dan Casel said of Pico's decisive home run.

Seeing a steady diet of curveballs over or just off the outside corner from Palo Verde pitcher Melissa McCormick, the right-handed-hitting Pico hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Darcey Cochran in the first inning and a two-out RBI single to right to score Cochran in the third as Legacy built a 2-0 lead.

"The last couple of games we played against them, she's been throwing me outside (pitches), so I just took advantage of it and went the opposite way," Pico said.

After Palo Verde tied the game in the fourth on Lauryn Stover's two-out, two-run homer on a two-strike pitch, Pico got her third chance in the sixth.

McCormick started off Pico with a screwball over the inside corner for a strike and came inside off the plate with the second pitch.

Sensing another inside pitch, Pico turned on a 1-1 pitch over the inner third of the plate and drilled it over the left-center field fence.

"I knew it was coming, and I just turned on it," Pico said.

McCormick fired a five-hitter for Palo Verde, allowing two earned runs and striking out 10.

■ Durango 3, Arbor View 2 -- Marley Sandoval's push-bunt single scored Cristina Rohner with the deciding run in the fifth inning as the Trailblazers eliminated the Aggies (19-9).

Sam Juarez homered in the Trailblazers' two-run fourth as Durango erased a 2-0 deficit.

■ Durango 6, Bonanza 2 -- Sandoval was 3-for-4 with a double and scored three runs as the Trailblazers jumped to a 3-0 lead and eliminated the Bengals (20-11-1).

■ Arbor View 3, Centennial 0 -- Jones pitched a four-hitter, and the Aggies did all their scoring in the fourth inning to oust the Bulldogs (20-13-1).

Nichole Diaz was 3-for-4 and Jones and Karli Lehr each went 2-for-4 for Arbor View.

SUNRISE REGION

■ Liberty 8, Green Valley 5 -- The Patriots got key production from every player in their lineup and defeated top-seeded Green Valley in the semifinals of the Sunrise playoffs.

The victory lifted Liberty (24-8) into today's 5 p.m. championship against Foothill (18-13) or Green Valley (26-7).

Cassandra English went 3-for-4 to lead the Patriots, but coach Kris Jensen gave credit to everyone on his squad.

"At the start of the playoffs we struggled a lot," said Jensen, whose team lost both regular-season meetings with the Gators. "So we talked about playing as one and winning as a team."

With the game tied at 3 in the top of the sixth, Liberty scored four runs on five singles to take control. Breanna English supplied a two-run single to the uprising.

The Gators will face Foothill at 3 p.m. today in a game to determine who will play Liberty for the championship.

Megan Patras went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Liberty, and Rhiannon Beck also had three hits.

■ Basic 6, Las Vegas 2 -- Lacey Romo struck out eight while pitching a three-hitter to help the Wolves oust the Wildcats.

Leah Causey went 3-for-4 to lead Basic, which took over with five runs in the third inning. Romo hit a solo home run.

■ Foothill 2, Valley 0 -- Alex Petrolia threw a four-hitter, striking out four, to help the Falcons eliminate the Vikings.

Myranda Mortel homered in the first, and Aricia Dami hit an RBI double in the sixth.

■ Foothill 5, Basic 0 -- Petrolia pitched a two-hitter, and the Falcons (19-13) broke a scoreless tie with three runs on no hits in the fourth inning to eliminate the Wolves (20-7).

The Falcons parlayed two walks, three fielder's choices and an error into three runs in the top of the fourth.

Kylee Taylor and Kylie Ishikawa each had an RBI single in the fifth for the Falcons.

Jenilee Medina had both of Basic's hits.