O'Connor's Greg Bozinovich lines 3-run double to help Eagles defeat Skyline 9-4.(AzPreps365 photo)

Sandra Day O'Connor took an early shot to the midsection from Skyline Saturday in its bid to reach the 6A baseball final. The Eagles caught their breath in the third inning and were the aggressor the rest of the way.

Pitcher Mitchell DeCovich rebounded from a tough first inning and Nolan Gorman and Colton Kucera paced a 14-hit attack with seven hits between them leading #7 Sandra Day O'Connor to a come-from-behind 9-4 win over #11 Skyline at Diablo Stadium. Cleanup hitter Greg Bozinovich knocked in four runs with a sacrifice fly and and pivotal three-run double in the fifth.

Sandra Day O'Connor (21-10) advances to the title game Tuesday May 15 at 7 against Mountain Ridge, a 9-1 winner of Mountain View in the late semifinal. Skyline finished the season 23-11 with the most successful season in school history. The Coyotes were 5-2 in postseason.

After giving up a 4-0 lead late on Friday and losing in extra innnings to Skyline, O'Connor started slowly. Skyline matched the four-run rally in Friday's seventh-inning in the first inning on Saturday. Three singles to open the game off DeCovich with two throwing errors tossed in and the Coyotes were off and running.

DeCovich was a bulldog, however, the rest of the way. He closed with six straight scoreless innings. He gave up seven hits, one walk and fanned four for his ninth win of the season.

Skyline's pitching depth was tested with its top three pitchers unable to compete. Senior Josh Gonzales got the start - his first work in 3 1/2 weeks. Gonzales kept Skyline in the game for the nearly four innings he worked. O'Connor scored twice in the third to pull within 4-2 and dinged Skyline with three-unearned runs in the fourth to take its first lead, 5-4.

Gorman, who was 3 for 3 and scored three runs, contributed in each of those rallies with a single in the third and double in the fourth. Mason Skaugrud's RBI single gave O'Connor the lead for good in the fourth.

Skyline reliever Tyler Jackson was touched for the knockout blow after Gorman walked to load the bases with two outs in the fifth. Bozinovich lined a double that rolled to the fence down the right-field line bringing in runs 6, 7 and 8.

Kucera was 4 for 4 and Skaugrud 2 for 4 with 2 RBI.  AJ Herrera, Jan Rollon and Cade York each ahd two hits for Skyline.

#5 MOUNTAIN RIDGE 9, #1 MOUNTAIN VIEW 1: The Mountain Lions (21-10-1) gave ace Matthew Liberatore a three-run lead in the top of the first and that was all she wrote for the Toros (25-8) in the late semifinal at Diablo Stadium. The loss ended Mountain View's best state tournament run since they last won a title in 1998.

Mountain Ridge scored three runs on three hits and pair of walks to put Mountain View on the defensive quickly. A two-run double by Travis Warinner and an RBI single by Brock Peery were the run-producing hits off Toros' starter Sean Rimmer.

Liberatore yielded the only run in the bottom of the first - unearned - due to a two-out error.  Liberatore pitched through the first out of the seventh inning before the pitch count retired him for the night. Libertatore allowed four singles, walked four and struck out 10. Seven of the 10 strikeouts came in the fifth through seventh innings. Liberatore will not be able to pitch in the championship game on Tuesday since he will fall short of the required rest prescribed by pitch-count regulations.

Matt Liberatore acknowledges fans, teammates exiting final start for Mtn. Ridge (AZPreps365 photo)

Mountain Ridge collected 11 hits off four Mountain View pitchers. A five-run rally in the third inning was highlighted by Luke Blachut's two-run single and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Ellis. Jacob Robson, Warinner and Blachut had two hits each for Mountain Ridge.