The Mountain Ridge Magic Mountain Lions pulled another one out in their final at-bat.

But they almost threw this one away, literally and figuratively.

Walk-off winning hits in 2016 in meaningful games is old hat for the Mountain Lions.

On Thursday, they did again, this time in the biggest game of their program’s history. Mitchel Sullivan’s infield hit, the only RBI hit in the game, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning put away Hamilton, 4-3, and sent Mountain Ridge to the Division I state baseball final for the first time.

@MountainLionBB walks off with win. 4-3 pic.twitter.com/M97JyrasaC

— Jose E. Garcia (@AZPreps365Jose) May 13, 2016

This was the sixth time Mountain Ridge (26-5) won in walk-off fashion this season, with a different player delivering the game winning hit each time. Sullivan’s turn to be the hero came with two outs and a 3-2 count.

His head-first slide at first base just beat the throw from Hamilton’s second baseman, who did all he could to retrieve the grounder before it went to right field.

(Mitchel Sullivan)

“I figured whoever was up to bat that someone was going to deliver” Sullivan said. “I’m just glad it was me.”

Hamilton thwarted Mountain Ridge’s first attempt to score the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth after a Cameron Cannon double with a runner on first.

Hamilton’s relay throw nailed Chase Sandman at home for the first out in the inning.

Hamilton nails potential game-winning run at home after a double in bottom of 8th. pic.twitter.com/vpOw2yMi09

— Jose E. Garcia (@AZPreps365Jose) May 13, 2016

After Hamilton then intentionally walked the No. 2 and 3 hitters and struck out Mountain Ridge’s cleanup hitter, the table was set for Sullivan’s heroics.

The senior went 1 for 2 with two walks for a Mountain Ridge team that finished with eight hits. Hamilton tallied nine hits and two errors.

“It’s just another day,” said Mountain Ridge coach Lance Billingsley about his team’s taste for dramatic victories. “It’s just what we do. We’ve done it all season long. We are just having fun and enjoying the experience.”

Mountain Ridge's experienced team is 12-2 in one-run games this season. 

Hamilton and Mountain Ridge can only blame themselves for sending this game into extra innings.

Throwing errors and pass balls allowed five of the first six runs in the game to score. Hamilton (25-7) loaded the bases three times in the game but failed to score a run in two of those occasions thanks in part to the four double plays Mountain Ridge converted.

Mountain Ridge was up 3-0 heading into the top of the sixth, when Hamilton scored its first run on a pass ball. With runners on second and third and no outs, Mountain Ridge went to the bullpen to bring in one of its top-2 pitchers, Tommy Lowe.

Lowe struck out the first two batters he faced, but an errant throw to third from catcher Matthew Dyer on a pickoff attempt brought home runs No. 2 and 3 for Hamilton to tie the game.

Dryer is perhaps the heart and soul of Mountain Ridge and the best catcher in the state. In a season in which a different player seems to step up every time for Mountain Ridge, Dryer’s teammates made sure their leader didn’t remain disappointed in himself for too long.

“As far as I know there’s never been a men’s state championship won in any sport in the 20-year history of Mountain Ridge, and for us to just get a chance to play in the title game says a lot about how far we’ve come as a program,” Billingsley said. “Three years ago we had just nine wins. When I came in we started winning games and started believing in the family and the culture, and we are right where we planned to be.”

The Hamilton-Sandra Day O’Connor losers’ bracket winner on Saturday will face Mountain Ridge in Monday’s D-I final at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Only one baseball team, Notre Dame in 2013, has gone on to win a state title from a losers' bracket since 2012, when the double elimination format began in D-I and II.

Of the five hits Hamilton starter Cole Bellinger gave up in seven innings Thursday, only one was an extra base hit.