Playoff roundup: Walk-off wins highlight wild 5A region baseball opening round

Faith Lutheran’s baseball team scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally and claim a 5-4 home win over Shadow Ridge in a Class 5A Southern Region tournament opening-round game on Wednesday.

Miami (Florida) commit Rookie Shepard’s three-run double tied the score, and Bennett Gonzales drove in the winning run for Faith Lutheran (16-13).

The Crusaders will next play at Desert League champion Basic at 4 p.m. Thursday in a winners bracket second-round matchup.

Basic defeated Faith Lutheran in last year’s 5A Southern Region title game. The Wolves later defeated the Crusaders on the second day of the 5A state tournament on their way to the title.

Shadow Ridge (11-17) falls to the losers bracket and will play the loser of Centennial-Palo Verde at 4 p.m. Friday in an elimination game.

Oliver Schoppmann went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles for Shadow Ridge.

No. 3M Palo Verde 2, No. 4D Coronado 0: At Centennial, Owen Anderson’s two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Palo Verde, the Mountain League’s No. 3 seed, a walk-off win over Coronado, the Desert League’s No. 4 seed.

Palo Verde (24-7) next plays at Sky League champion Centennial at 4 p.m. Thursday in a winners bracket second-round game.

Sophomore Connor McDonald earned the win on the mound for Palo Verde, pitching a complete game with eight strikeouts, one walk and three hits allowed.

Coronado (15-16) will face the loser of Faith Lutheran-Basic at 4 p.m. Friday in an elimination game.

The game was played at Centennial due to renovations to Palo Verde’s field.

No. 3S Legacy 4, No. 3D Liberty 3 (8 innings): At Legacy, freshman Elijah Thompson’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth lifted the Longhorns, the Sky League’s No. 3 seed, over Liberty, the Desert League’s No. 3 seed.

Legacy (14-14) will play at Mountain League champion Bishop Gorman at 4 p.m. Thursday in a winners bracket second-round contest.

Thompson finished 2-for-4 for Legacy and Olvin Espinoza finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Manulua Mann earned the win in a complete-game effort for the Longhorns.

Liberty (15-17) faces the loser of Arbor View-Desert Oasis at 4 p.m. Friday in an elimination game.

No. 2D Desert Oasis 6, No. 4M Durango 5: At Sierra Vista, the Diamondbacks, the Desert League’s No. 2 seed, scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull ahead and defeat Durango, the Mountain League’s No. 4 seed.

Desert Oasis (22-9-1) will play at Arbor View, the Sky League’s No. 2 seed, at 4 p.m. Thursday in a winners bracket second-round game.

Landon O’Dell went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for the Diamondbacks.

Durango (12-17) will play the loser of Bishop Gorman-Legacy at 4 p.m. Friday in an elimination game.

The game was played at Sierra Vista due to renovations to Desert Oasis’ field.