Richardson, Gaels quell Sierra Vista’s rally in Sunset baseball final

Billy Richardson didn't think he was going to play Friday.

But after Bishop Gorman starter T.J. White ran into trouble in the seventh inning, Richardson came on and ended up making the game's biggest pitch.

The senior right-hander struck out Sierra Vista's Scott Tomassetti with runners at second and third to preserve the Gaels' 5-4 victory in the championship game of the Sunset Region baseball tournament at Sierra Vista.

Gorman (32-4) earned a berth into next week's state tournament. Sierra Vista (34-4) will host Sunrise Region runner-up Green Valley (31-7) at 11 a.m. today, with the winner getting the final state slot.

"I figured T.J. had it pretty much locked up," Richardson said. "He had pitched really great the entire game, so I didn't think I was coming off the bench. I thought it was going to be a 1-2-3 inning, but it didn't happen like that."

White had thrown six shutout innings, and the Gaels led 5-0 when Blair Goldsack hit a towering pop-up that fell just inside the right-field line between three Gorman defenders for a leadoff single.

White then issued his first walk and, after a fielder's choice left runners on the corners, walked another batter to load the bases.

He then hit Armando Perez with a 2-and-2 pitch to force home the first run. White fell behind Alex Estrella 3-and-1, and Gorman coach Nick Day summoned Richardson from the bullpen.

Richardson said he "got kind of freaked out" coming on with the bases loaded and a 3-and-1 count on the batter.

He threw a ball on his first pitch to complete the walk and force home another run to make the score 5-2.

Jake Hager then singled to left to make the score 5-3, and Perez came home on a wild pitch to cut the Gaels' lead to one.

"I realized there was a job that needed to be done," Richardson said. "I realized it was time I needed to man up and get those last two outs."

Richardson got Conner Klein to pop out to short, then struck out No. 3 hitter Tomassetti with a 3-and-2 breaking pitch.

"We went curveball. My catcher (Erik Van Meetren) gave me the sign, he let me know he wanted to throw it, and I went with him," Richardson said. "I trusted it because he knows those hitters better than anybody else."

Day said the pitch selection turned out to be perfect.

"It took a lot of guts to throw three (breaking pitches) in a row, especially with that being a 3-2 count," Day said. "But he actually executed it perfect. That was probably the best pitch he could have thrown, down at his ankles, in a 3-2 situation."

The Gaels scored three runs in the first on an RBI double by Erik Van Meetren and a two-run single by A.J. Van Meetren.

They scored in the third on a solo homer by Joey Gallo and got another solo homer, by Cody Roper, in the fourth.

But the offense didn't show much life after the early lead.

"I kept telling the guys in the dugout the whole game, 'This isn't enough. We need more runs,' " Day said. "We all know what type of team Vista is, and we were lucky to come out with the win there."

Now the Gaels will focus on trying to bring home their sixth consecutive state championship.

"This one really wasn't anything special for us," Richardson said of the region title. "We're happy to win it, but we've got our eyes on the real prize, and that's state."

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.