Down 6-1 to Catalina Foothills in the bottom of the seventh, Canyon del Oro scored five runs to tie the game up and then junior catcher Francisco Rivero blasted a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to help defeat the Falcons 10-6 in an important 5A Sonoran match.

Catalina Foothills (13-2 in ranking games) came in ranked No. 2 and the Dorados (14-2) started the day ranked No. 4, but the new set of rankings will be released Wednesday afternoon. It’s hard to predict where the teams will fall on the updated rankings, especially with No. 1 Canyon View (16-1) beating No. 38 Buckeye 17-6. On average, both Canyon del Oro and Catalina Foothills have a more difficult schedule than the rest of the field down the stretch of the regular season.

Region standings have no bearing on the state playoffs at the 5A level but the 5A Sonoran Region is still up for grabs and the two teams will meet once again Thursday night at Catalina Foothills for the region title. The Dorados moved up to the 5A Conference after competing in the 4A Conference over the last eight years.

The Falcons took a 2-0 lead on the Dorados in the top of the second on an outfield error with two runners on and the team added three more runs in the top of the fourth to go up 5-0. Bryce Weege doubled in a run and then Parker Jacome knocked in two runs with two outs.

Rivero hit his first home run of the game in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead down to 5-1 but Ganon Dwyer returned the favor in the fifth to give the Falcons the 6-1 lead that held up until the bottom of the seventh. David Adams started the rally with a single, Maximus Hendrix followed with a single and then Regen Mazura reached on an infield error to load the bases with no outs.

Gatlin Geile made it to 6-2 on a hit-by-pitch RBI but Weege picked up back-to-back strikeouts to keep the bases loaded with two outs. Peyton Carson brought in two more runs with a single to cut the lead down to 6-4. Geile came home on a wild pitch to make it 6-5 and then Adrian Encinas tied the game up with an RBI single. Brayden Hoyler came up with a hit to put two on but a fly to the outfield ended the threat.

The Falcons left a runner on base in the top of the eighth but the Dorados loaded the bases in their half of the inning with no outs on a hit from Hendrix, a single from Mazura and walk from Geile. A short fly ball kept the runners on base and then Rivero came up with one out, with the bases loaded, and he delivered on his grand slam.

Rivero had the two home runs with five RBI to help lead the Dorados, Carson went 2-4 with two RBI, Mazura went 3-4, and Hoyler, Adams and Hendrix all went 2-4. Tarrell Reid (4-0) got the start for Canyon del Oro and he collected seven strikeouts with Adams (4-1) taking over in the sixth with five more strikeouts and the win.

Catalina Foothills celebrates a home run from Ganon Dwyer. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

Dwyer had a home run for the Falcons, Weege had an RBI double, Jacome had two RBI and Yaxel Ledesma went 2-2. Weege (3-0) had five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings and Ari Schiller (3-2) finished the game.

The 5A Play-In Tournament is slated for April 30 and the first round of the state playoffs is set for Saturday, May 3 with both Canyon del Oro and Catalina Foothills expected to host.