Sahuaro pitcher Pat McCoy, left, and infielder Tommy King helped the 12th-seeded Cougars upset No. 5 Sabino in a first-round game at Sabino.

James S. Wood / arizona daily star

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The pressure on pitcher Pat McCoy was daunting in Sahuaro's 7-3 win over host Sabino in the opening round of the Class 4A-I state tournament on Saturday.

Not only was the Sahuaro senior left-hander pitching against the potent offense of fifth-seeded Sabino, but McCoy also had a slew of pro scouts aiming their radar guns to analyze his every move.

"It was a lot of pressure, but I deal with pressure situations pretty well," McCoy said.

He proved it by striking out nine and pitching five scoreless innings in the No. 12 Cougars' upset victory.

"They have dynamite sticks over there. Hats off to them, but I just threw my heart out today," said McCoy.

With his team leading 1-0 in the third, Sahuaro's Jacob Cole slapped a single to left field to spur a rally. A pair of RBIs from Alex Ferguson and Matt Fierro one out later extended the lead to 3-0.

It the bottom of the inning, Sabino (20-3) scored on an RBI double by Travis Jones.

A solo homer by Cole in the fifth and an RBI single by Ryan Moser in the sixth extended the Cougars' lead to 5-1. They added two in the seventh.

Sabino made a two-out rally in its final at-bat. Justin Zumwalde and Jerome Curtis each drove in runs to cut Sahuaro's lead to four. With the bases loaded and a chance to tie the game, Nate Leifeld slapped a shot toward center field, but second baseman Dan Arrington snagged it and threw to first for the final out.

"We hit the ball well at times, but they were outs," Sabino coach Rod Allen said. "You can have all the talent in the world, but you've got to have a little luck."

Sahuaro will play No. 13 Ironwood Ridge — a 12-3 winner over Phoenix Pinnacle — in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at Papago Baseball Park in Phoenix.

● Amphitheater 7, Lake Havasu 0: At Amphi, the top-seeded Panthers wasted no time getting to work in their first-round win, scoring three runs in the first inning to advance in the 4A-I tournament.

Brothers Rafael and Ricardo Neda each hit solo home runs and drove in four of Amphi's seven runs.

"I thought we hit the ball well," Amphi coach Todd Naskedov said. "We got good pitches to drive, and we took advantage with two home runs and a few doubles."

Combined with the efficient offense, Amphi pitcher Richie Sandoval (8-3) struck out four batters and pitched five innings.

"When I was out on the mound, I felt confident," Sandoval said. "We are just out here taking it one game at a time, but I think I could throw more strikes and hit my spots better."

The Panthers (25-4) will play in the quarterfinals on Tuesday against Canyon del Oro at Papago Baseball Park in Phoenix.

● Canyon del Oro 5, Glendale Cactus 1: At CDO, senior right-hander Rick Patton had nine strikeouts in a complete-game four-hitter for the No. 8 Dorados (22-9).

"This is definitely up there, in the top one or two," Patton said when asked to rate his performance against his previous starts. "It's the state tournament. You've got to come out focused."

Patton's cause was aided early when leadoff hitter Zach Tarbet opened the first with a home run.

Tarbet, who later added two infield singles, also scored during the Dorados' three-run fifth that put away No. 9 Cactus (22-9).

— Brian J. Pedersen

● Prescott 7, Catalina Foothills 6: At Foothills, No. 14 Prescott pulled off the upset over the third-seeded Falcons.

Foothills starting pitcher Kevin Krutzsch was pulled in the first inning after giving up four runs. Krutzsch walked four, gave up two hits and hit a batter in one-third of an inning.

"We dug ourselves into a big hole in the first," Foothills coach Jeff Fowler said.

The Falcons (25-5) rallied to force a 5-all tie, aided by Andy Hunter's two-run homer in the third inning.

"We had a chance to win," Hunter said, "but I don't know if we had the heart to win like other teams do."

Down 7-5 in the seventh, Foothills threatened again when junior shortstop Ashton Kent led off with a homer to center field, and later put runners on first and second.

But Jesus Martinez grounded out to end the game.