It was a crisp night. Downright chilly. Temperatures in the upper-50s to 60 isn't really something to complain about. Arizona can do that to you.

But maybe that had something to do with the baseball played Thursday night in the title game of the 4th annual Bob Everett Classic at Gilbert High. Or perhaps four days of toil for tournament host schools Gilbert and Mesquite had them hitting a wall in the manner of performance.

Gilbert managed to edge Mesquite, 13-11, for the title in a three-hour battle purists didn't have in mind. There were a combined 18 walks and nine errors (six by Gilbert) with the teams sprinking in 13 hits between them. Gilbert (9-3 overall) posted a 6-0 record in the tournament defeating Mesa, Desert Ridge, Valley Christian, Alhambra and Westwood prior to the title-game triumph. The Tigers allowed just 12 runs in those five victories.

Mesquite (6-7-1) entered the tournament 2-6 so perhaps its play this week will lead to better fortunes starting next week when power-ranking games are all that remain.

In the title game there were plenty of crooked numbers on the scoreboard. Gilbert took a 5-1 lead after the the first inning, then found itself behind 8-5 after three thanks to seven-run, third inning by Mesquite. Mesquite tacked on three more in the fourth, but Gilbert managed to tie the game 11-all with six runs in the bottom of four. 

Gilbert added single runs in the fifth and sixth for the final 13-11 margin. Josh Simanton's sacrifice fly in the fifth broke the tie. A sacrifice fly from Isaiah Maes in the sixth plated Kyle Jeffries, who began the frame with a triple to left-centerfield. 

The pitching standout in the contest belonged to the Tigers' Tanner Leyba. Leyba, the fourth Gilbert pitcher, tossed four innings of one-hit ball and three unearned runs - an inning the Tigers committed three errors. Leyba walked two and struck out five.

Top offensive players for Gilbert, which out-hit Mesquite 8-5, were Sean Jeffries (3 for 4) and Kyle Jeffries (2 for 4). Starting pitcher Drew Goodman reached base in all four of his plate appearances - two walks, a single and hit by pitch. Simanton was 1 for 1, walked, hit by pitch and delivered the tie-breaking sacrifice fly.

No Mesquite players collected multiple hits. Sebastian Granillo had the game's only home run, a two-run shot in Mesquite's seven-run third. Wyatt Wright reached base five times - three walks, a single and via an error. Keaton Bell walked three times.