Preps

Santa Rita wins 4A's last berth for state

Santa Rita captured the fourth and final 4A state playoff berth Thursday with a 10-8 win over Cienega in the Kino-Sonoran Region wild card elimination game at the Kino Sports Complex. The Sonoran No. 4 Eagles fell behind twice but came back with solid hitting through the middle of the order. Down 7-5 in the bottom of the fifth, Santa Rita's Nos. 2-5 batters went single, double, double, single to score three runs and make the score 8-7. Santa Rita added two insurance runs in the sixth when No. 3 hitter Chris Luera had an RBI single before scoring on No. 6 hitter Andrew Alcon's single. "We had to battle back," Santa Rita cleanup hitter Steve Contreras said. "This team has heart." Contreras finished the game 3 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. The loss ended Kino No. 4 Cienega's season at 10-11-1. Cienega won five of 22 games last year. Santa Rita (13-11) will play at the Desert Sky No. 2 team in a first-round state playoff game Saturday. 4A Sonoran

° Ironwood Ridge 11, Rincon/University 10: At Kino Sports Complex, the top-seeded Nighthawks scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to steal the Sonoran's No. 2 state playoff seed from the Rangers. Matt Marquez was the late- inning hero when he knocked in David Signorelli for the game-winning run. "It is the position I want to be in," said Marquez, who transferred from California this year. "I just thought about doing my job. You got to relax." No. 3 Rincon was on the winning end of walk-off hit Wednesday when it defeated Santa Rita 4-3. With the win, Ironwood Ridge (19-9) will host a first-round state tournament game Saturday against East Sky No. 3 Phoenix Arcadia. Rincon (14-13) will play East Sky No. 2 Scottsdale Coronado at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for its first-round game Saturday. 4A Kino

° Sabino 4, Amphitheater 2: At Kino Sports Complex, sophomore starter Paul Hartman shut down the No. 2 Panthers to give the Sabercats the No. 2 seed to state. "He has been good every time he has thrown," said coach Mike Hanson, whose squad was seeded third for regionals. "We had all the confidence in him." Hartman said he had pre-game jitters but calmed down in the second inning. "The adrenalin was pumping through me," Hartman said. "It felt good to throw." Sabino (15-7-1) will host Skyline No. 3 Phoenix Sunnyslope on Saturday in the first round. Amphi (18-11) will travel to play Skyline No. 2 Phoenix Thunderbird on Saturday.