Arizona HS baseball playoffs: No. 1 Nogales ends Desert Mountain's season, advances to 5A final vs. Verrado

No. 1 Nogales bounced back from a Wednesday night loss to Scottsdale Desert Mountain to beat the Wolves 5-3 on Thursday night to advance to Tuesday's 5A championship game at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Desert Mountain had beaten Nogales 5-3 in nine innings the previous night to hand Nogales its only in-state loss of the season and first loss of the double-elimination tournament.

Nogales (31-3) returns to the state championship game for the first time since the 16-inning classic -- a 7-4 loss to Horizon that was the longest-played final in Arizona Interscholastic Association history.

"Credit to Desert Mountain and Coach (Ryan) Dyer and his staff on how tough they played us back to back nights," Nogales coach O.J. Favela said. "We knew that they were limited on pitching coming up through the loser's bracket. Their pitchers never gave in and gave their team a chance."

Saul Soto got the start Thursday and he delivered a strong outing. It was his second quality start against Desert Mountain. He won the second-round game on May 2 in a 5-1 win over the Wolves, forcing Desert Mountain to have to win three games in seven days to get to a semifinal do-or-die between the teams.

It was Desert Mountain's fourth game in eight days.

Derek Montijo's two-run single late in the game Thursday gave Nogales a three-run lead.

"Last night we felt was more of our team," Favela said. "It's been great pitching and defense, along with timely hitting. Overall, it was a great team win."

Desert Mountain forces a third meeting against Nogales

Scottsdale Desert Mountain's surreal season continues after defeating top-seed Nogales 5-3 in nine innings Wednesday night, forcing a rematch Thursday night at 6:30 at Mesa's Hohokam Stadium.

The winner advances to Tuesday's 5A state championship game at Tempe Diablo Stadium at 4 p.m.

No. 3 Buckeye Verrado beat No. 2 Horizon 1-0 in a game that took less than two hours to play to advance to the state championship game for the first time since 2018 when it lost to Peoria Liberty.

That's the only time Verrado has played for the title.

Desert Mountain got clutch hitting in the top of the ninth after Nogales scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score at 3 and send the game into extra innings.

Sophomore Kyle Pettigrew's two-run double in the ninth were the winning runs.

Cooper Weeks no-hit Nogales threw five innings, before Demetrio Cristantes broke it up with a double in the sixth.

Nogales' three runs in the seventh came off reliever Luke Moeller, who saved Desert Mountain's season Monday by coming on with the bases loaded in the sixth to retire the next three batters in a win over Peoria Sunrise Mountain.

James Hunter pitched the eighth and ninth innings to keep explosive Nogales batters at bay.

This will be Desert Mountain's third straight elimination game, after losing to Nogales 5-1 on May 2. This was Nogales' first loss of the tournament and the first time it lost to an in-state team this year. The Apaches are 30-3.

"Very proud of the resiliency and mental toughness of this team," said Desert Mountain coach Ryan Dyer, who led the Wolves to the state title last season. "Nogales is the number one seed for a reason. They are very talented from top to bottom."

Joe Perez pitched a complete-game shutout for Verrado against Horizon.

Tanner West drove in the winning run in the fifth.

"It was a big moment and I knew I had to come up big for my team," West said. "I was looking fastball away and that's what he threw me and I didn't miss it."

In 4A, it will be an all-Tucson area final between Salpointe Catholic and Oro Valley Canyon del Oro after both won their games Wednesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

The championship game is set for Monday at 7:30 p.m., at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson. The game was moved from Tempe to Tucson to cut the costs of traveling for both schools.

No. 3 Salpointe defeated No. Walden Grove 5-4 in eight innings, and Canyon del Oro beat defending state champion Gilbert Mesquite 5-3 in semifinals.

Salpointe began the season 4-7 before it began to roll. Canyon del Oro went through a four-game losing streak after starting the season 7-0.

Queen Creek stops Hamilton in 6A quarter

Top-seeded and nationally ranked Chandler Hamilton's season is over.

The Huskies' bats once again were tamed, this time by Queen Creek, and they exited the double-elimination 6A tournament before they could reach the semifinal round in a 2-1 loss Tuesday night at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

The top four seeds -- Hamilton, Alhambra, Mountain Ridge and Red Mountain -- have been eliminated.

Earlier in the 16-team tournament, Scottsdale Chaparral shut out Hamilton 5-0.

No. 5 Queen Creek (21-5) moves into the semifinals Friday at 4 p.m., at Hohokam Stadium against No. 8 Chaparral, one of only two unbeaten teams left in the field.

Hamilton was shut out through six innings by Queen Creek's Danny Smith. Smith gave way to Sebastian Tomerlin in the seventh. Tomerlin had pitched Saturday in a 9-7 loss to Chaparral.

He gutted through the seventh after the Huskies scratched out a run. With runners on second and third, Tomberlin struck out Logan Saloman to end the game.

"He was able to brush (Saturday's game) off," coach Mikel Moreno. "He was able to come in a high leverage situation and get it done for his teammates. It was awesome."

Smith outdueled Kole Klecker on the mound.

"He just executed his pitches," Moreno said about Smith. "Jimmy Richardson is our pitching coach and he called a hell of a game. I think he executed every pitch last night. It was pretty awesome."

Earlier in the game, with runners on the bases for Hamilton, Tomerlin made a diving catch in center field on a short fly ball that saved runs from scoring.

"Big ballpark," Hamilton coach Mike Woods said. "Prince DeBoskie hit a ball in the seventh inning that would have been gone in any high school field. It went to the track. It would have been game-tying.

"But whatever. They hit the long balls, too."

In the earlier elimination game at Diablo, No. 10 Gilbert Perry knocked off Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor 5-3, behind a stellar pitching performance from Stryder Salas, who worked six innings, allowing two hits.

"Salas was locked in," Perry coach Damien Tippett said. "He believed in his stuff and let his defense play behind him. It was a lot of fun to watch.

"Jeremy Sprague caught a great game for Stryder, which allowed Stryder to throw some pretty tough pitches in big spots."

Perry scored three runs in the seventh inning. Stephen Hernandez and Brayden Tambone knocked in all five of Perry's runs with Tambone driving in three of them. Both players had two hits.

This sets up a rematch with No. 6 Chandler on Friday at Hohokam at 6:30 p.m. Chandler beat Perry 8-2 on Saturday.

Luke Moeller's clutch pitching helps Desert Mountain survive

Defending 5A champion Scottsdale Desert Mountain could have fallen apart any time this baseball season.

The Wolves had injuries, the biggest coming from senior catcher Luke Moeller, the star of last year's state championship win. Moeller in preseason suffered a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

Consulting with his father Chad, a former Diamondbacks catcher, and doctors, Luke did not have surgery and took time off to let it heal. He came back later in the season, and on Monday, he ended up being clutch on the mound.

With the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth in a close game, Moeller came in to pitch and got three quick outs without a run-scoring.

Desert Mountain extended its lead with three more runs and eliminated No. 4-seed Peoria Sunrise Mountain 7-2 in the double-elimination tournament at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

No. 9 Desert Mountain moves into Wednesday's semifinal at Mesa's Hohokam Stadium at 6:30 p.m., against No. 1 Nogales, which has yet to lose and beat Desert Mountain 5-1 in the second round.

"Came in with (the bases) loaded and told myself I wasn't getting beat by anyone and that my defense had my back," Moeller said. "Found a way out of it pitch by pitch throwing strikes and my defense did the rest."

Desert Mountain added three more runs in the sixth to extend its lead to 7-2. In the bottom of the seventh, Moeller retired the side, striking out two.

Sunrise Mountain (26-6) led 1-0 through two innings before Desert Mountain (21-9) struck in the fourth with four runs.

Dylan Kratz went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and Leo Sarnataro and Jackson Hairston each drove in two runs for the Wolves.

Desert Mountain coach Ryan Dyer called Moeller the staple of the program the last four years, so having him out of the lineup "put us in a do or die situation."

"The team dug in as a group and showed up every day more focused than the last and mentally dedicated themselves to persevering through any adversity that came our way," Dyer said. "We continually focus on the things that give us success on the field. Play fundamental sound defense, pitchers throw strikes, and rely on that defense. Offensively, we're staying within ourselves and getting it to the next guy.

"Because of the adversity, we discovered we are a great team and have 25 players capable of helping us win at any given moment and situation."

Moeller credited his teammates for getting hot down the stretch during the Wolves' run with different players coming up with clutch performances. They've won nine of their last 10 games.

"I got the OK to pitch at the start of the playoffs, and was so excited to find any way I could to contribute to the team," said Moeller, who signed with Arizona to play catcher. "Fighting through our adversity made us the team we are today."

No. 2 Horizon, coming out of the loser's bracket, moved onto the semifinals with a 4-1 win over Queen Creek Casteel, the No. 10 seed. Horizon avenged a 7-1 second-round loss to Casteel.

Horizon will play Buckeye Verrado in the other semifinal. Verrado is undefeated in the tournament.

Chandler, Hamilton on 6A collision course

Could Chandler and Hamilton be meeting for the state championship for the first time ever in baseball?

There still is a lot of playoffs to be played, but No. 6 Chandler moved into the 6A semifinals and remained one of only two unbeaten teams left after Saturday in the 16-team, double-elimination tournament after an 8-2 win over Gilbert Perry at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Meanwhile, No. 1 Hamilton (25-4), playing at home in an elimination game Saturday, got two two-home run games from both Gavin Turley and Zach Wadas in a 13-7 win that ended Tucson High's season.

Turley now has 14 home runs on the season.

Hamilton, 3-1 in the tournament, will play Tuesday night against Queen Creek, which saw Scottsdale Chaparral rally from a 7-4 deficit to score five runs in the top of the seventh and win 9-7 in a winner's bracket game.

Queen Creek will play Hamilton, which could come back with its ace, Logan Saloman, who pitched on Thursday and will have five days between starts.

Queen Creek took a 5-2 lead over Chaparral in a long first inning, before the Firebirds chipped away, cutting it to 5-4 in the fourth.

The Bulldogs led 7-4 after five, collecting 12 hits off of three Chaparral pitchers.

Sebastian Tomerlin, the quarterback of Queen Creek's football team last season, got out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. But in the seventh, Aidan Young hit a towering three-run homer over the left-field wall off of Tomerlin to tie the score at 7-7.

A one-out error was followed by Slader Spoor's double. That led to a two-run single by No. 9 batter Andrew Mings to give Chaparral the winning runs.

"To be frank, coming back to win that game can only be explained by the mudita effect," Mings said. "Throughout our program, we emphasize taking care of the little things so that we will be rewarded in big situations.

"We were really able to live that truth tonight. Fully trusting every member of the lineup is something special, and this team has that bond. ... I also want to give a big-time shout-out to the clutchest man walking this Earth, Mr. Aidan Young."

Young said the strong team bond has carried the Firebirds to this point.

"Everyone on this team has picked each other up all season and that didn't stop (Saturday) night," Young said.

Chandler (25-6), 3-0 in the tournament, will await the Perry-Sandra Day O'Connor winner to play in next Friday's semifinal at Mesa's Hohokam Stadium. O'Connor eliminated No. 2 Phoenix Alhambra 9-1 on Saturday. Perry and O'Connor play for survival on Tuesday at Diablo Stadium.

Chandler coach David Lopez can come back with either Aiden Shumaker or Daniel Hutchison next Friday on the mound. Both right-handers have been equally effective at the top of the rotation, which is why the Wolves are having one of the best seasons in school history.

On Saturday, Schumaker pitched the distance and got four runs in the first inning, keyed by catcher Mattix Meade's two-run triple.

Chandler tacked three more runs in the fourth inning, boosted by Premier Region Offensive Player of the Year Tate Scott's two-run double.

"Between (Shumaker) and Daniel Hutchison, those two guys give us a chance every time," Lopez said. "We're in a great spot. We know what it entails. It's going to be a battle all the way through."

If Hamilton climbs out of the top bracket to get to the final, it will have to beat both Queen Creek on Tuesday and Chaparral on Friday. . Should that happen, it would have to come back Saturday to have to beat Chaparral again to reach the May 17 championship game.

Pacheco masterful again for Alhambra in win

Phoenix Alhambra knows what it's going to get when it marches junior right-hander Marco Pacheco to the mound.

A win.

Once again, Pacheco was masterful, lasting 6 1/3 innings, in the Lions' 8-2 victory Thursday that eliminated visiting Phoenix Brophy Prep from the 6A state baseball playoffs.

Backs against the wall in a win-or-go-home game, Pacheco struck out 10 and was charged with only one earned run. Brophy's second run came on a two-out dropped fly ball. He walked only one.

His catcher, Benjamin Delcid, drove in four runs on a pair of two-run doubles.

"I was throwing everything," said Pacheco, who pitched a 2-0, complete-game win over Desert Vista on Saturday in the first round. "We were mixing it up good. The fastball outside, the slider. A couple of changeups here and there. But everything was working well."

The Lions even had Grand Canyon freshman pitcher Daniel Avitia in the dugout for support. Avitia and Pacheco led the Lions to the state final last year at the top of the rotation.

Now the No. 2 Lions, after losing Tuesday's second-round game to Gilbert Perry, have the difficult task of grinding through the elimination bracket to get back to the final. It won't be easy. They're back at home Saturday to face No. 7 Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor, which eliminated No. 3 Glendale Mountain Ridge 9-3 on Thursday.

The Lions (29-2) will have to figure out a pitching plan because their No. 2 pitcher Jose Escalante returned to Mexico for the weekend, coach Shea Clark said.

"We're going one pitch, one inning at a time, trying to survive and keep moving on," Clark said. "We're pretty low on pitching right now, especially with Jose Escalante gone. He has something going on in Mexico this weekend. He plays in the summertime on their Mexico national softball team. They're not playing games right now. But he had something he had to go back for."

That means Clark could go with second baseman Eddie Cotto on the mound.

Pacheco wouldn't be available again until Tuesday if Alhambra survives Saturday.

Delcid, who has been Pacheco's batterymate since last year, broke a 1-1 tie in a four-run third with his two-run double off of sophomore left-hander Johnny Casale.

"They were mainly fastballs," Delcid. "He was throwing a little offspeed but I let those go. But once I saw that fastball up, I took it for a ride."

Eder Vargas took a fastball for a ride off of reliever Franz Lucas in the fourth with a solo home run over the left-field fence that gave Alhambra a 6-1 lead.

No. 1 Chandler Hamilton (24-4), also scraping back from the upper bracket after being shutout by No. 8 Scottsdale Chaparral on Tuesday, kept its season alive with a 9-3 win over Tempe Corona del Sol, as Kole Klecker had three hits, homered, and drove in four runs.

Josh Tiedemann also had three hits, a home run and two RBIs for the Huskies, who play Saturday at home against No. 9 Tucson in another elimination game. Tucson beat No. 13 Chandler Basha 8-7 in the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

Ace right-hander Logan Saloman pitched six innings for Hamilton, giving up two hits and two earned runs, striking out four and walking none for his second win of the tournament.

In Thursday's 5A action, top seed Nogales won its 30th game behind the pitching of Roman Bracamonte in an 8-0 win over Peoria Sunrise Mountain in the winner's bracket before a mostly Nogales crowd.

With Major League Baseball scouts watching at Tempe Diablo Stadium, Bracamonte, a New Mexico State signee, gave up three hits, struck out nine and walked two in 6 2/3 innings.

The stands behind home plate and along the third-base side were filled at Diablo with Nogales die-hards.

"The support we get is amazing," Bracamonte said. "It's like no other in the state. We've got fans from Phoenix and Tucson."

Nogales (30-2) scored four runs in the first inning on two batters getting hit by pitches and two doubles.

Nogales, which lost its only two games against out-of-state competition, doesn't play until Wednesday at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa.

"We’re playing very strong," Bracamonte said. "People give me a lot of credit. But I just throw the ball."

On the bottom of the double-elimination bracket, No. 3 Buckeye Verrado advance to next Wednesday with a 5-1 win over No. 5 Queen Creek Casteel.

Right-hander Joseph Perez, lifted after six innings, gave up no runs, scattered four hits, and walked two. Garrett Hicks went 3-for-3 at the plate for Verrado.

"I had a good feel for my fastball locating it very well," Perez said. "The curve wasn't needed much today but worked efficiently when needed."

Perez gave up a walk and a single in the second inning. A bunt moved the runners to second and third.

Perez dug deep to get a strikeout and a ground out to second baseman Larry Haskins to end the inning.

"Defense was great," Perez said. "The team worked hard behind me to get some crucial outs."

No. 2 Scottsdale Horizon won its elimination game, beating No. 11 Tucson Catalina Foothills 6-1, and will play Casteel on Monday in another elimination game at Diablo Stadium.

No. 9 and defending champion Scottsdale Desert Mountain, which eliminated No. 5 Waddell Canyon View, plays Sunrise Mountain on Monday in an elimination game at Diablo.

Notre Dame's season stays alive

Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep pounded out 16 singles, 13 of those on ground balls, and got electric stuff from sophomore left-hander Will Jenkins in a 10-0, five-inning run-rule elimination game against Sahuarita on Wednesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Sahuarita's season is done. No. 6 Notre Dame keeps its season alive in the 4A double-elimination baseball tournament and will play at No. 2 Sahuarita Walden Grove on Saturday at 4 p.m., in an elimination game.

Jenkins worked 4 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out four.

It was a bounce-back win for the Saints after losing to Tucson Salpointe Catholic 7-6 in the second round Monday.

"Pretty much all my stuff was working," Jenkins said. "I used my slider with getting ahead and used that to set up my fastball.

"With this elimination game win, we will keep this same energy and confidence that we will win whoever we play next. Bats were hot and I kept my team in the game."

Christopher Gaudio went 3 for 4 with three RBIs to lead the Saints' offense.

Oro Valley Canyon del Oro also got strong pitching to cool down Poston Butte's bats in an 8-4 4A winner's bracket game that gives the Dorados a break until playing next Wednesday at Diablo Stadium against the Mesquite-Poston Butte winner.

No. 5 Mesquite, the defending state champion, eliminated Scottsdale Saguaro 11-1.

"For me, that was great to keep that team in check because they are a good hitting team, but I was just being aggressive early and often," said CDO senior right-hander Blake Lehmbeck, a New Mexico signee, who limited the Broncos to four hits and no earned runs in seven innings. "No matter what, I will trust my stuff and also trust my defense.

"It was great to have run support early from my team. We hit great as a team. It was a great team effort and win."

Dominic Felix had three hits, including a two-run triple in the first inning to spark the Dorados, who scored four runs on five hits in the first inning against starter Ethan Hatch.

Canyon del Oro had a 6-0 lead on nine hits after two innings.

Salpointe improved to 3-0 in the tournament after beating Walden Grove 4-2 and doesn't play again until next Wednesday against the Walden Grove-Notre Dame winner.

Carroll pitches Chaparral to upset No. 1 Hamilton

Scottsdale Chaparral pulled off the most shocking win of the playoffs so far, beating top-ranked Chandler Hamilton 5-0 behind the brilliant pitching of Andrew Carroll on Tuesday night at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Carroll limited Hamilton to two hits, walked one and struck out 10 in going the distance and advancing the Firebirds in the 6A double-elimination state baseball tournament.

Hamilton falls into an elimination bracket and will face No. 12 Tempe Corona del Sol on Thursday at 4 p.m. at home to try to keep its season alive. Corona del Sol eliminated No. 3 Mesa Red Mountain with a 5-3 victory.

Chaparral, the No. 8 seed, advance in the winner's bracket to Saturday to play No. 5 Queen Creek at 6:30 p.m., at Diablo Stadium.

In the bottom bracket, No. 10 Perry defeated No. 2 Phoenix Alhambra to move into the winner's bracket to face No. 6 Chandler on Saturday at 4 p.m., at Diablo Stadium.

Hamilton (23-4) is ranked No. 20 in the nation and was coming off a five-inning, 12-1 run-rule win Saturday over San Luis in the first round.

The only other in-state team to beat Hamilton this year was Chandler Basha, 7-6, on March 31.

This was the first time Hamilton has been shut out.

"I was just trusting my pitches and letting my fielders work," Carroll said. "I've been waiting to do that for my four years at Chap. I have not gotten the chance to pitch against them, so this means the most to me, because I knew that was going to happen."

The only hits allowed were a triple to Prince DeBoskie in the second inning and a single to Ryan Kucherak in the fourth. He gave up a walk to Gavin Turley in the first for Hamilton's only other base runner.

Carroll took a 4-0 lead before he faced Hamilton's loaded lineup, after shortstop Liu Rodriguez hit three-run triple off the right-field wall. Rodriguez drove in another run in the fourth inning to make it 5-0.

Carroll struck out seven batters in the first three innings.

"I was really working my two-seam fastball consistently and mixing in slider and change-up," said Carroll, who has signed with the University of Arizona.

In Perry's win over Alhambra, Stephen Hernandez held the Lions to two hits and no earned runs in six innings. He struck out six.

Catcher Jeremy Sprague was 2 for 4 with an RBI, along with Cade Lacy.

Alhambra plays at home Thursday at 4 p.m., against No. 11 Phoenix Brophy Prep in an elimination game. The Lions likely will come back with Marco Pacheco, who pitched a 2-0 shutout against Desert Vista in the first round Saturday.

Brophy eliminated No. 13 Mesa Mountain 5-3 on Tuesday.

Hatch sparks big inning for Poston Butte

Top-ranked Poston Butte was baffled by Scottsdale Saguaro freshman left-hander Cam Caminiti through the first four innings Monday.

Caminiti, already committed to LSU and the cousin to the late great Major League Baseball star Ken Caminiti, struck out 10 batters in the first four frames and limited Poston Butte to one run (on a steal of home plate).

But the 1-1 game quickly turned into a rout with a big fifth inning as the Broncos scored seven runs and beat the Sabercats 8-3 in the second round of the 4A state baseball tournament.

Poston Butte (28-2) advances to the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament to play Wednesday against fourth-seed Canyon del Oro at 6:30 p.m., at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Caminiti left earlier in the inning and was charged with just one run.

The big blow came off the bat of Ethan Hatch, who ripped a three-run shot off the wall at Diablo Stadium.

Earlier in the inning, catcher Roy Carrasco drove in a run with an RBI double off of Caminiti to give Poston Butte a 2-1 lead.

"The comeback was a massive group effort where we got contributions from the entire team," Hatch said. "Roy jump-started the inning for us. Genaro (Garcia) passed it along to me, where I was able to come through, as well. From there, we just kept rolling."

Poston Butte has been an offensive machine all year. It was last season, as well, before the season ended in the semifinals. The Broncos are poised to go the distance this time with Hatch leading the way.

Hatch came into the game with 52 RBIs and 13 doubles, sporting a .547 batting average.

The Broncos survived an 8-7 win over No. 16 seed Cottonwood Mingus in the first round just to keep their season alive.

"This is what we worked for all season and now that we are within reach, we want to go get it with everything we've got," Hatch said. "This was a great bounce back from Saturday and we look forward to continuing the trend."

Canyon del Oro (21-7) edged defending state champion Gilbert Mesquite 2-1, as Chris Humphreys and Dominic Felix drove in CdO's only runs.

Felix got the win, pitching the distance, giving up six hits, striking out six and walking one.

In other 4A second-round games:

- Sahuarita Walden Grove (26-3) beat rival Sahuarita 4-2, setting up a winner's bracket game Wednesday against Tucson Salpointe Catholic, a 7-6 winner over Scottsdale Notre Dame.

- Notre Dame scored six runs in the second inning, sparked by Christopher Gaudio's grand slam, to take a 6-2 lead. But Salpointe rallied with a run in the second, three in the fourth and a walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh.

Sophomore Jose Simon hit a home run and Mason White had two hits and two RBIs for the Lancers. Sebastian Valdez added two hits and an RBI.

Related: Arizona high school baseball top performances for April 25-30; vote in our poll

For subscribers: Arizona HS state baseball playoffs for big schools set

5A

Cruz Oxford worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, and Peoria Sunrise Mountain held off Waddell Canyon View 2-1 to move into the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

Oxford pitched six innings, giving up no runs and walking four and striking out three, giving up three hits.

Alex Sanderson gave up a run in the seventh but got the final out for the save.

Sunrise Mountain scored a run in the first and third innings with Ryne Palmer driving in both runs.

The Mustangs play top-ranked Nogales on Thursday at Diablo Stadium. Canyon View is at home Thursday to try to stave off elimination against defending state champion Scottsdale Desert Mountain, which fell to top seed Nogales 5-1.

Queen Creek Casteel (15-15), which played one of the toughest schedules in 5A, advanced to the winner's bracket with a shocking 7-1 win over No. 2 seed Phoenix Horizon. Horizon scored its only run in the first inning. Sophomore left-hander Mason Russell, a University of Arizona commit, kept Horizon batters in check after the first. His catcher, sophomore Kade Thompson, also is committed to Arizona.

Buckeye Verrado (23-5) will face Casteel on Thursday after shutting out Tucson Catalina Foothills 3-0. Verrado scored a run in the first, another in the third and again in the fifth.

Horizon plays host to No. 11 Catalina Foothills on Thursday at 4 p.m., in an elimination game.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: No. 1 Nogales beats Desert Mountain to advance to 5A final vs. Verrado