Basha has fielded a sophomore-heavy lineup in the 2021season. Eight sophs started on Saturday in the Bears'  6A first-round playoff game as the #9 seed against #8 Corona del Sol. On this day, however, the lone senior in the starting lineup showed his younger mates how it's done.

Tanner Smith capped a big day to keep his team alive at state with superb relief pitching and clouted a tie-breaking home run in the ninth as Basha, edged Corona del Sol, 7-5, in extra innings at Corona del Sol.

Basha (12-8) advances to the quarterfinals to face top-seed Hamilton, a 7-3 winner over Mountain Pointe. That quarterfinal game is set for Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Hamilton. Corona del Sol saw its season conclude at 14-7.

Smith was heavy in the action throughout. He caught the first four innings and shifted to the hill to throw five innings of one-run, two-hit relief. He walked one and fanned six to earn the victory.

After the Bears pushed the game to extra innings thanks to a clutch two-out, bases-loaded double in the top of the seventh, Smith stepped up and supplied the game-breaker with a no-doubt, two-run homer to left centerfield in the top of the ninth.

"Tanner's amazing," Basha coach Jim Schilling said. "He's such a good kid and he earned what he got today. I thought he was going to get a good cut on that last at-bat with a 3-1 count and he did."

Both teams got on the board in the fourth after three scoreless innings. Basha plated two in its at bat on two hits, a hit batter and error. Corona del Sol answered with four - three hits, a hit batter and one of the hits a well-executed squeeze for one of the runs. Corona extended its lead to 5-2 with its only run off Smith in the fifth.

Corona del Sol starter Wyatt Bauer was an out away from putting away Basha in the seventh. Bauer allowed six hits and no walks in the first six frames. With a runner at first and two out and infield error gave Basha extended life allowing the tying run come to the plate. The Aztecs decided to intentionally walk Smith after a wild pitch, loading  bases and setting up a force at every base. It also put the put the tying run on base.

On Bauer's first pitch to clean-up hitter Tyler Clementz, Clementz found the ideal gap and ripped a bases-clearing double to right centerfield. Basha waited two more innings for Smith to deliver the game-winner.

Basha had two players with mulitple hits - Brady Lord (2-4, 2 RS) and Clementz (2-5, 3 RBI). Corona del Sol's offense was paced by Zach Kress (2-4), Cole Carlon (2-3) and Zane Coggins (2-3).