Sahuaro players celebrate after their victory over Cienega to reach the state title game for the first time since 2002.

DEAN KNUTH / ARIZONA DAILY STAR

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Sahuaro coach Steve Sanchez was not satisfied when Rebecca Mullin led off the fourth inning with a deep homer, the first run of Wednesday's 4A-I state semifinal game against Cienega.

He was not even satisfied when pinch runner Deanna Newcomb scored from third base on a passed ball later in the inning.

It was not until senior Breanna Beckel smashed a two-run shot over the left field wall — giving the Cougars a four-run lead en route to a 5-3 victory at Amphi — that Sanchez cracked a smile.

Sahuaro (26-8) will face Canyon del Oro on Friday at 5 p.m. at Rose Mofford Complex in Phoenix.

"I just wanted to keep them pumped and make sure we were swinging the bats," Sanchez said. "I didn't want them to get complacent. And look what happened … thank goodness we didn't."

It was the first home run of the season for Beckel.

"Thank God I hit it!" Beckel said. "Such perfect timing; everything just came together."

Cienega pitcher Alexa Cash struck out nine batters, including three in the top of the seventh to give the Bobcats one more chance.

But Sahuaro pitcher Kira White retired the side in order in the bottom of inning to send the Cougars to their first state championship game since 2002.

"I knew I had to shut them out that last inning," White said.

The sophomore struck out eight and had just one big mistake — giving up a three-run homer to Cienega's Chelsea Hendryk in the fifth inning.

"It was supposed to be a screwball, but it didn't break; it just went right down the middle," White said.

"It could have cost us the ball game, but it's a good thing we had runs."

— Michael J. Craven

● Canyon del Oro 2, Glendale O'Connor 1: At Rose Mofford, Katie Asher's 13th home run of the season was the most important one yet, a solo shot to the opposite field that lifted defending champ CDO into the 4A-I state title game.

Asher, no stranger to the long ball, was so surprised her drive down the right field line went out that she screamed all the way around the bases in the sixth inning.

It broke a 1-1 tie and put CDO (32-4) in the state final for the fourth straight year.

"It didn't look like a home run to me, and it didn't feel like one off the bat, either," said Asher, a junior. "But it made us feel comfortable that we would come out with a win."

The top-seeded Dorados survived an extremely rare off-night — by her standards — from All-American pitcher Kenzie Fowler. She held No. 4 O'Connor to one hit and struck out 11, but her night was marked by six walks — including three in the fifth inning.

Fowler (23-1) issued a bases-loaded walk to Chelsea Lenhart to tie the game at 1.

Fowler dodged further trouble by striking out the final two batters of the inning.

"You just have to adapt in situations like that, and (catcher) Rose (Magaddino) and I did a great job," Fowler said. "These games come down to one run, one mistake, one pitch. And Katie was clutch for us."