SUNSET REGION: Pico uses plate, circle as chalkboard in propelling Legacy to win

The Legacy sophomore covered both sides of the plate, anticipated the pitch she’d see in each at-bat and drove in all three of her team’s runs, including a tiebreaking solo home run in the sixth inning.

And just for good measure, she also tossed a four-hitter to lift her team into the Sunset Region championship game with a 3-2 win over Palo Verde at Majestic Park.

The Longhorns (28-3) will face either Palo Verde (25-8) or Durango (23-8) in the final game of the double-elimination tournament on Friday at 5 p.m. If Legacy loses that game, it’ll get a second chance to win the region and earn a trip to state in an if-game at 7 p.m.

“She was swinging a good bat the first two at-bats, and I just told her to go up there and be aggressive and look for something to drive,” Legacy coach Dan Casel said.

Seeing a steady diet of curveballs over or barely off the outside corner from Palo Verde pitcher Melissa McCormick, the right-handed hitting Pico hit a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Darcey Cochran in the first inning and a two-out RBI single to right to score Cochran in the third as Legacy built a 2-0 lead.

“The last couple of games we played against them, she’s been throwing me outside (pitches), so I just took advantage of it and went the opposite way,” Pico said.

After Palo Verde tied the game on Lauryn Stover’s two-out, two-run homer on an 0-and-2 pitch in the fourth inning, Pico got her third chance in the sixth.

McCormick started Pico off with a screwball over the inside corner for a strike and came inside off the plate with the second pitch.

Sensing another inside pitch, Pico turned on a 1-and-1 pitch that was over the inner third of the plate and drilled it over the left-center field fence for the deciding run.

“I knew it was coming, and I just turned on it,” Pico said.

Palo put the potential tying run on base with one out in the seventh, but Pico’s eighth and ninth strikeouts of the game ended the threat.

Before Tuesday, Legacy had never participated in a playoff game. The Longhorns are 3-0 in the postseason and one win away from a trip to Reno for the state tournament.

“Our goal this year was to get to the playoffs,” Casel said. “We’ve earned this. I’m just so proud of the girls. We just keep believing in ourselves. It’s going to be tough to beat us twice.”

McCormick fired a five-hitter for Palo Verde, allowing only two earned runs and striking out 10.

Durango 3, Arbor View 2 — Marley Sandoval’s push-bunt single plated Cristina Rohner with the deciding run in the fifth inning as the Trailblazers eliminated the Aggies (19-9).

Rohner began the fifth with a bunt single, moved to second on Marina Ybarra’s sacrifice and to third on a single by Mindy Larson before coming home on the bunt by Sandoval.

Sam Juarez homered in the Trailblazers’ two-run fourth inning as Durango erased a 2-0 deficit. Nicole Herrera tossed a four-hitter for Durango.

Amanda Jones was 2-for-4 for Arbor View.

Durango 6, Bonanza 2 — Sandoval was 3-for-4 with a double and scored three runs as the Trailblazers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and eliminated the Bengals (20-11-1).

Juarez also went 3-for-4, and Katie Moore was 2-for-2 with a double for Durango.

Emily Osborn hit a solo home run for Bonanza.

Arbor View 3, Centennial 0 — Jones tossed a four-hitter, and the Aggies did all of their scoring in the fourth inning en route to dismissing the Bulldogs from the postseason.

The Aggies scored two runs on a throwing error and added another on Savanah Webster’s RBI single.

Nichole Diaz was 3-for-4 and Jones and Karli Lehr each went 2-for-4 for Arbor View.

Bailie Nelson was 2-for-3 for Centennial (20-13-1).