REGION SOFTBALL: Desert Oasis catches on

Cimarron-Memorial needed only 10 pitches to grab a 3-0 lead and all sorts of momentum Tuesday.

Desert Oasis left fielder Dayana Gage needed only one catch to rob the Spartans of an extra-base hit, their momentum and quite possibly the game.

Gage made a spectacular running catch in left field to start a first-inning double play and spark the Diamondbacks (17-16) to a come-from-behind 8-6 win over the visiting Spartans in the opening round of the Sunset Region softball tournament.

"That was a pretty big catch because it got our motivation up," Gage said. "Coach has been working with the outfielders on a drop step and run, and I used it and caught the ball."

Cimarron chased Desert Oasis starter Lenzi Cram after only nine pitches, loading the bases on a walk, a misplayed sacrifice bunt and a hit batter.

Cram uncorked a wild pitch to allow Hannah Williams to score, and Reanna Bass greeted reliever C.J. Wilson with a two-run single to right-center, giving the Spartans a three-run lead.

Carli Stafford followed with what appeared to be a sure double to left-center, but Gage got a great jump and ran the ball down in deep left-center. With Bass already halfway to third, the Diamondbacks easily turned the catch into a double play.

"That's a huge double play," Desert Oasis coach Jerome Streets said. "To make a catch that nobody thought she was going to get to, and then turn around and throw it into the infield and get the double play. It basically stopped their momentum."

Kayla Johnson then doubled, but Wilson got out of the inning without more damage.

The spark from Gage's catch carried over into the bottom of the first as a leadoff walk and an infield hit by Gage set up Emily Heinz, who drilled a two-run double to start a five-run inning.

"We've been known to be the comeback kids," Gage said.

The Spartans (20-12) hurt themselves with two errors, a misplayed squeeze bunt and a wild pitch in the inning, and never fully recovered.

Cimarron trailed 8-4 entering the seventh, but used a pair of errors and an RBI hit by Stafford to creep within 8-6 and had the potential go-ahead run at the plate with one out.

But Wilson got a pop out and a fielder's-choice grounder to third base to end the game.

Wilson threw seven innings of relief, allowing three unearned runs on eight hits as the teams combined for 10 errors and a handful of mental mistakes.

Gage finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI for Desert Oasis, which will face Palo Verde (26-8) in a winners' bracket semifinal at 3 p.m. today at Faith Lutheran.

Johnson was 3-for-4, and Hannah Williams went 2-for-3 for Cimarron, which meets Bishop Gorman (14-14-1) in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. today at Gorman.

■ Palo Verde 10, Bishop Gorman 0 -- At Palo Verde, Rachel Williams tossed a four-hitter and struck out five as the Panthers routed the Gaels in five innings.

Williams also went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for Palo Verde.

■ Centennial 14, Clark 6 -- At Centennial, Taylor Huntly went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and the Bulldogs (21-10) overcame an early 4-0 deficit to top the Chargers.

Kylie Bartlett was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and Heather Bowen went 2-for-3 with a double for Centennial, which led 13-5 after three innings.

Centennial will meet Durango (22-10) in a winners' bracket semifinal at 5 p.m. today at Faith Lutheran.

Julia Hagen paced Clark (18-14), going 3-for-3 with two triples, a double and four RBIs. Shannon Chapman was 2-for-3, and Jasmine Fukuda went 2-for-4 for the Chargers, who will face Shadow Ridge (13-9) in an elimination game at 4:30 p.m. today at Gorman.

■ Durango 7, Shadow Ridge 3 -- At Durango, the Trailblazers made the most of three singles to rally from a 3-0 deficit and top the Mustangs.

Durango trailed 3-0 before scoring six runs in the fourth.

Krislyn Campos was 2-for-3 with two doubles, and Mary Jordan went 2-for-3 for Shadow Ridge.

SUNRISE REGION

Liberty softball coach Kris Jensen has stressed that his team needed three things in games this year.

Timely hitting, good pitching and solid defense.

Jensen and the Patriots went 3-for-3 on Tuesday.

The Patriots (20-10) took care of all three facets en route to a 2-0 victory over host Las Vegas in the opening round of the Sunrise Region tournament.

"We made the plays when we had to," said Jensen. On top of that, we got solid pitching and got the hits at key times. Even though we beat them before, we knew it would be a dogfight."

Liberty scored the game's only runs in the second inning.

Megan Patras opened by drawing a walk, one of only two issued by Las Vegas starter Brooke Booth.

Diana Cassaro followed with a single, and Patras came around to score when the ball got by Mariel Hundley in center.

Carson Cooper's bad-hop single brought home Cassaro, and the Patriots had the 2-0 lead.

The Wildcats (14-13) did have a golden opportunity against Liberty starter Francesca Foti in the fifth.

Foti, who faced the minimum through four innings, yielded singles to Taylor Price, Jasmina Salas and Kristina Nelson to load the bases with no one out.

A fielder's choice and two strikeouts ended the threat.

Las Vegas had a final chance in the seventh as Salas, who went 3-for-3, hit a one-out double to center.

Foti refocused and got a groundout and a popout to end the game.

Foti allowed six hits and struck out six in getting the victory.

Liberty will meet Foothill (17-10) in a winners' bracket semifinal at 3 p.m. today at Coronado.

Booth scattered seven singles and struck out five in taking the loss for Las Vegas, which faces Eldorado (13-11) in an elimination game at 3 p.m. today at Foothill.

■ Foothill 8, Eldorado 0 -- At Foothill, Alex Petrolia spun a three-hitter and struck out eight to lead the Falcons past the Sundevils.

Palmer Bosanko went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI for Foothill.

Aricia Dami went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Foothill.

■ Silverado 3, Rancho 2 -- At Rancho, Taylee Heckman went 2-for-4 with a triple and a double to help the Skyhawks past Rancho.

Silverado (13-6) advances to face Coronado (29-2) in a winners' bracket semifinal at 5 p.m. today at Coronado.

Aly Lamboo provided a triple and two RBIs for the Rams (17-15), who will meet Valley (14-16) in an elimination game at 5 p.m. today at Foothill.

■ Coronado 11, Valley 5 -- At Coronado, Kim Dawson went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs to help lead the Cougars over the Vikings.

Breanna Portese went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for the Cougars, who also got a home run from Morgan Yuhas.

Jasmine Villimar went 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs for Valley.