With an atypical heat wave hitting in mid-March, Millennium picked the wrong day for a 13-inning marathon. 

But the Tigers’ timing to pull off an upset was impeccable.

The 2026 Boras Classic of Arizona, one of the nation’s premier baseball showcases, kicked off its ninth annual, 16-team tournament Wednesday. Millennium opened the Boras Classic against top-20 nationally ranked Basic Academy, considered the best team in Nevada this season.

But after three-plus hours in record-breaking heat, the Tigers gutted out a 6-5 victory at Chaparral High. Coming off losses in two of its previous three games, pulling off an impressive upset seemed unlikely for the 7-3 Tigers. 

“I worked hard back there for 13 innings,” said sun-burned Millennium catcher Peyton Burgess. “That’s the longest game I’ve ever played in my life. But it was the most fun I’ve ever had in a game in my life as well.”

The fun part for Burgess was watching fellow sophomores Chase Fillman and Mikey Stortz battle against a formidable lineup with six Division I commits. 

"A big problem sometimes on our staff is throwing strikes, but today both of our pitchers competed in the zone very, very well,” Burgess added.

The left-handed Fillman started the game, giving up four runs in the first three innings before settling down. 

He allowed only one hit to the final 16 batters he faced and also went 2-for-4 with three walks.

An assistant coach congratulates Millennium’s starting pitcher Chase Fillman after his gutsy performance on the mound Wednesday. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)   As for Stortz, he allowed only five hits and one run in seven innings to pick up the victory. 

“(Stortz) was an absolute dog on the mound today,” Millennium coach James McDonald said. “He put it out there for his teammates. Every single pitch he threw with conviction."

The burly Diego Perez also was clutch after stranding runners during his first two at-bats. 

The senior cleanup hitter knocked in two runs to tie the game at 4-4 in the top of the fifth, with a 0-2 count and two outs.

Perez added his third RBI in the game in the top of the 13th after a single to center, bringing in the eventual winning run.

In the top of the ninth, Millennium’s Brady Perrin’s solo shot to right-center put his team up 5-4. But Basic Academy responded with three consecutive singles to help tie the game in the bottom of the frame.

From there, it was a battle of wills all the way to the end.

“This is the type of performance that we really needed,” McDonald said. “We talked about having some hunger, and today, this was the perfect game to show that hunger. 

“This is the type of championship baseball we should be able to play the rest of the year.”

Millennium’s next test is at noon on Thursday versus Hamilton in the next round of the Boras Classic.