SUNSET REGION: Arbor View stuns Gorman

It wasn’t the way Zach Quintana had envisioned recording the final out. But in the end, it worked out just fine.

With the tying run on third, Quintana’s 2-2 pitch to Jerrel Latham got past catcher Brandon LaPointe and went to the backstop.

But LaPointe got to the ball quickly and fired back to Quintana covering the plate in time to get pinch-runner Willie Jumper for the final out as Arbor View shocked host Bishop Gorman 9-8 in the Class 4A Sunset Region tournament on Wednesday.

“I knew I threw it hard enough to where I had a chance to come back and cover the plate,” Quintana said. “I knew it was going to bounce off hard, because I threw it as hard as I could. And I just got in and covered the plate with my whole body.”

Arbor View (31-4) plays Durango (17-18) at 4 p.m. today at Centennial. Gorman (31-3), ranked seventh nationally by Baseball America, plays Spring Valley (22-9-1) in an elimination game at 1 p.m.

The final out came on Quintana’s 129th pitch. He took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but Gorman got a double from Justin Jones and a long home run just inside the right field foul pole from Joey Gallo to cut the lead to one.

Kenny Meimerstorf then singled, and was replaced at first by Jumper, who advanced to second on a grounder, and stole third.

“It’s kind of unreal right now,” Quintana said of the win. “It hasn’t set in. I knew we had the talent, definitely, to beat them. It hasn’t set in that we did it.”

The Aggies fell behind early as Gorman took a 4-0 lead after two frames, and led 6-2 going to the sixth.

But Arbor View sent 12 batters to the plate in the sixth, scoring seven runs highlighted by Quintana’s three-run double that gave Arbor View its first lead.

“It was just calming down and not getting so hectic,” Quintana said of the key to the big inning. “It’s on the line when we’re down a bunch, especially to one of the best teams in the country. We just needed to get baserunners. Baserunners were the key to that inning.”

Arbor View also got a couple breaks in the inning. Tyler Peterson’s swinging bunt down the third base line rolled dead just inside fair territory to load the bases with nobody out. And with one out, Evan McMahan hit a potential double-play ball to third.

But Gallo’s throw to second hit pinch-runner Wyatt Burge in the head, allowing a run to score and keeping the bases loaded.

Quintana then laced a double into the left-field corner to give the Aggies the lead.

“Once that inning started, things started snowballing a little bit,” Arbor View coach Chris Martinez said. “We got a couple breaks, some balls went our way. We had a couple very big hits for us, but (Quintana) delivered a very big hit.”

Quintana finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs, and P.J. Gonzalez was 2-for-2 with a double for Arbor View.

Gallo was 2-for-3 with two homers and four RBIs. He now has 63 career home runs. Latham added a solo shot for Gorman.

“This is an unbelievable win for our program,” Martinez said. “We’re only seven years into this thing, and this is one of the biggest wins in the program’s history. But we’ve got to enjoy it tonight and go back to work tomorrow.”

Durango 7, Centennial 5 — At Centennial, Jacob Dismont drove in the go-ahead run with a two-run single in the top of the sixth inning, helping the Trailblazers get past the Bulldogs (23-10-1).

Centennial hosts Sierra Vista (24-10) in an elimination game at 10 a.m. today.

Brett Neighbors went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and Vince Lombardi added a double for Durango, which rallied from a 5-3 deficit with four runs in the sixth.

Winning pitcher Rey Cardenas threw five innings for Durango with Anthony Parry coming on in the sixth to notch the save.

Mike Yenkowski doubled, singled and scored a run for Centennial.

Spring Valley 13, Cimarron-Memorial 2 — At Cimarron, Robby Brewster was 4-for-4 with a homer, two runs and two RBIs and went the distance on the mound as the Grizzlies eliminated the Spartans (22-9).

Brewster allowed one earned run on six hits.

Dylan Drachler went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI, and Jose Rosales-Rodarte was 2-for-3 with two runs for Spring Valley.

Sierra Vista 7, Shadow Ridge 4 — At Sierra Vista, Loren Cutolo smacked a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to help the Mountain Lions (24-10) eliminate the Mustangs (18-14).

Cole Crosby hit a two-run double, and Daniel Gonzales had two hits for Sierra Vista.

Winning pitcher Chandler Smith went the distance, striking out seven and scattering 11 hits.

Mike Wager hit a home run, and Brady Hoskins slugged two doubles for Shadow Ridge.