Catalina Foothills senior Ethan McQuade singled with two outs to keep the Falcons alive in the bottom of the 12th against Canyon del Oro which brought up fellow senior Paden Good. Good only had two hits in the game but both were huge. Good singled in the bottom of the 10th to tie the game up 5-5 and he came up big in the 12th on a two-out double to score McQuade. The game took four hours and 15 minutes and eight pitchers threw in the battle between two of the best teams in the 5A Conference.

Canyon del Oro (22-5) came in ranked No. 2 in 5A Conference and Catalina Foothills (20-5) was No. 3 and both squads compete in the Sonoran Region. No. 1 Notre Dame Prep (18-6) lost to No. 6 AZ College Prep (17-7) 10-2 Tuesday night so there’s a possibility the Falcons could be ranked No. 1 come Wednesday afternoon.

The Dorados left 19 runners on base, including nine in scoring position but the Falcons were also having difficulty batting with 15 left on with seven left in scoring position so each run was amplified. Yaxel Ledezma doubled in Alec Olivas to put the Falcns up 1-0 in the bottom of the first and it looked like that might be the final score until Tanner Sultan hit a three-run shot to put Catalina Foothills up 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth. An infield error with two outs extended the inning for the Falcons prior to the home home run and all six errors committed in the game had an impact on the game.

The Dorados started to climb back in with Jackson Potter doubling in Bostyn Dart to cut the lead down to 4-1 in the top of the sixth and then David Adams scored two runs on a triple to make it 4-3. Adams scored on a ground out by Francisco Rivero and the game was tied 4-4 heading to the seventh.

Canyon del Oro loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh but freshman Easton Altherr picked up a strikeout and then a groundball to ended the threat. The Falcons left two on with one out in the ninth and then Alex Martinez put the Dorados up 5-4 in the 10th when he scored from second base on a wild pitch.

Good tied the game up 5-5 in the bottom half of the inning and the game played even from there with the Dorados leaving two runners on in the top of the 12th with one out which opened the door for Good to end the game in the bottom half of the inning.

Adams went 3-5 with a double, triple and an RBI for the Dorados and he also picked up seven strikeouts from the mound in five innings of work. Peyton Carson added eight strikeouts for the Dorados and Dillon Weidner also saw action.

McQuade went 3-5 for the Falcons. Alek Leyva, Isaac Kirkendall, Mateo Sbarra, Altherr and Jason Canez threw for Catalina Foothills.

Catalina Foothills will visit Canyon del Oro on Thursday to end the regular season for the Falcons but the Dorados will host No. 30 Maricopa (6-16) on April 27 to end their season. The first round of the state playoffs is set for Saturday, May 2 and Canyon del Oro and Catalina Foothills are in line to host as high seeds.