Trailblazers prevail in feel-good ending

Katie Moore had trouble even breathing Tuesday.

Durango's first baseman barely had the strength to walk and looked as if she belonged on a mattress instead of a softball field at Majestic Park.

But the sophomore had plenty of strength when it counted most.

Moore belted a walk-off solo home run on a 2-2 pitch with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Trailblazers to a 6-5 win over Centennial in the opening round of the Sunset Region softball tournament. Durango (21-7) advances to meet Palo Verde (24-7) in a winners' bracket semifinal at 6 p.m. today.

"I told my coaches I was going to play," said Moore, who was battling allergies. "I'm looking forward to sleeping right now, but everybody always says to leave it on the field, and that's pretty much what I tried to do today."

Lifted for a pinch runner in the third inning, Moore re-entered the game and scored the go-ahead run on Taylor Short's RBI single in the fifth inning as the Trailblazers (21-7) chipped away to erase Centennial's 4-0 first-inning lead.

The Bulldogs (19-12-1) tied the game in the top of the seventh on Taylor Huntly's two-out RBI single.

Before each inning, one of Durango's bench players took Moore's spot at first base, throwing ground balls to other infielders to allow for a few extra seconds of rest.

"Katie always gives 100 percent every day," Durango coach Toni Del Toro said. "Even sick, she'll give you everything she has. I don't think she'd let me keep her on the bench."

Mindy Larson added two hits and scored two runs for Durango, which won its 15th straight game.

"We did a great job of bouncing back and not giving up," Del Toro said. "We want to stay in the winners' bracket. We're hoping to win four (games.)"

Alyssa Hotman had three hits and Mia Acuna, Huntly and Kylie Bartlett each added two hits for Centennial. Bartlett also smacked a three-run homer in Centennial's four-run first inning. The Bulldogs meet Clark in an elimination game at 4 p.m.

■ Palo Verde 10, Clark 0 -- Erika Stratton went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and two doubles, including a bases-clearing double in the first inning, as the Panthers (24-7) rolled past the Chargers (16-14) in five innings.

Danielle Hearn's two-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the fifth ended the game on the run rule.

Winning pitcher Melissa McCormick allowed three hits with seven strikeouts. She also went 2-for-3 and scored twice.

■ Legacy 10, Desert Oasis 2 -- Danielle Fuller and Jessie Wilhelm each had three of the Longhorns' 18 hits as Legacy (26-3) won its playoff debut over the Diamondbacks (17-15).

Darcey Cochran, Sierra Pico, Kayla Murray, Danielle Pick, Michelle Beardsley and Hannah Weld added two hits apiece for the Longhorns, who will face Arbor View in a winners' bracket game at 6 p.m.

C.J. Wilson went 2-for-3 for Desert Oasis, which will meet Bonanza in an elimination game at 4 p.m.

■ Arbor View 7, Bonanza 0 -- Amanda Jones pitched a four-hitter to lift the Aggies (18-7) past the Bengals (19-10-1).

Savanah Webster went 3-for-4 with two runs and broke open the game with a three-run blast in the fifth inning.

Jones, Berlin Panduro and Chelsa Baca each added two hits for Arbor View.

SUNRISE REGION

Foothill coach Tom Mayes has been around long enough to know that there's no such thing as a freebie in the playoffs.

Mayes prepared his team for a tough opening-round game, and his players responded with a 2-0 victory over Las Vegas in the Sunrise Regionals at Majestic Park.

Alex Petrolia went the distance, tossing a three-hitter and striking out eight, to earn the win.

"I was starting to think this thing could go nine or 10 innings," said Mayes, whose team finally broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the fifth inning. "So it felt good to finally get a couple of runs."

Petrolia and Las Vegas pitcher Monique Hernandez both appeared untouchable through the first four innings, but the Falcons logged three of their five hits in the fifth, an inning highlighted by Jennifer James' RBI double and Palmer Bosanko's run-scoring triple.

Petrolia said the runs relieved considerable pressure.

"I always try to pitch like it's a 0-0 ballgame," she said, "but it was nice to have those runs behind me."

Hernandez tried to help the Wildcats rally by leading off the bottom of the seventh with a single.

Petrolia retired the next three batters to lift Foothill into the winners' bracket.

The Falcons (17-12) will face Liberty (22-8) today at 6 p.m.

■ Liberty 4, Rancho 2 -- The Patriots scored three runs in the first inning and held on to defeat the Rams.

Liberty collected just three hits in the game, but Carson Cooper helped set the tempo with a two-run double in the first.

Rancho answered with a run on no hits in the fourth inning and another on two hits in the sixth.

The Rams (11-19) face Las Vegas (20-9) in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.

■ Basic 5, Valley 2 -- The Wolves erupted for four runs in the seventh inning to rally past the Vikings.

Valley grabbed an early 2-0 lead on an RBI double by Mickayla Romero in the first inning and an unearned run in the third, and Basic squandered several scoring opportunities through the first five innings.

But winning pitcher Lacey Romo hit a solo homer in the sixth to bring the Wolves within a run, and teammates Jenilee Medina and Adrian Brown had key RBI hits in the seventh.

Basic (19-5) plays Green Valley (25-6) at 6 p.m. today. Valley (15-13) plays Eldorado (15-14) in a 4 p.m. elimination game.

■ Green Valley 4, Eldorado 1 -- The Gators scored two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth for a comeback victory over the Sundevils.

Kayla Nasife tripled in the first and later scored to give Eldorado a 1-0 lead.

But Green Valley pitcher Alicia Firelein settled down to toss a three-hitter, and teammates Kayla Anderson and Shelby Vickers had RBI hits in the fifth to put the Gators ahead for good.