Give an average pitcher a six-run lead in the first inning and you have a good shot at winning. Give a great pitcher like Salpointe senior Branden Hance (9-1) the same six-run lead and it's practically game over. Almost.

Salpointe (21-4 overall, 13-1 in power-ranking games) sent 11 men to the plate in the first inning to take an early 6-0 lead on Sunnyside (16-8, 11-4) but the Blue Devils responded with two in the bottom half of the inning and three more down the stretch to make the game close but the Lancers held on for a 6-5 victory.

"Having a lead like that is a big help," Hance explained. "It lets me know I can go in and compete. We had a couple of mishaps tonight but our defense has historically been there for me in every game."

The game was not a section battle but it was just as important because the Lancers came in ranked No. 1 in the latest Division II AIA/MaxPreps rankings while Sunnyside was ranked sixth.

The Lancers control their own destiny in Section IV and should clinch that title on Wednesday. The Blue Devils also control their own destiny in Section I but the section title is still up for grabs with several difficult matches remaining for Sunnyside.

Section titles aside, both teams are in the hunt for a first-round bye in the state playoffs. That bye is important in D-II because it takes teams one step closer to the double-elimination round. The Lancers appear to be in the best position for one of those eight spots.

Sunnyside ace Adam Moraga (5-2) took the mound to start the game off but it wasn't his night and the Lancers came out swinging. Alex Diaz had an infield hit to lead things off and then Tommy Garcia followed with a single. Robby Campillo knocked Diaz and Garcia in and then Alejandro Hernandez hit a two-run shot to put Salpointe up 4-0.

Moraga picked up two strikeouts but Efrain Cervantes and Michael Forte hit back-to-back singles to set up a an RBI double from Manny Villa and another RBI from Diaz.

Down 6-0, the Blue Devils went to work and Marcos Larranaga led the inning off with a single and Saul Suazo brought him in one out later. Moraga came up later in the inning and he singled in Suazo to cut the lead down to 6-2.

Angel Castillo (4-2) took over and he held Salpointe the rest of the way, retiring 19 of the next 23 batters including a stretch where he put down 14 in a row.

"I had to try to pick up my team," Castillo said. "I had to do all I could. My fastball was working and I had good placement. Coach told us we played a great game and we had a lot of fight. It kept us going."

While Salpointe was shutdown, Larranaga added fuel to the comeback with a home run in the third to cut the lead down to 6-3. An unearned run in the fifth and another in the sixth cut the lead down to 6-5 but the Blue Devils stranded two runners in the bottom of the sixth.

Hance picked up some speed and erased four of the last five batters to preserve the win. Hance is now tied for third place in all of Arizona with nine wins and is tops in D-II by two games.

Hance was excellent at 5-1 last year on a team dominated by the arms of Ernesto Romero (10-2) and Jio Orozco (8-2) and the bats of Donny Sands and Orozco. Still, with Sands and Orozco playing professionally, many wrote the Lancers off this year.

Salpointe finished in third place last year and Sunnyside took fourth. Both teams have clearly reloaded for another post season run.

"I have more velocity on my fastball and my sinker is getting good," Hance added on what the difference might be for him this year. "I have that mid-range velocity pitch to keep batters off balance. Plus we are a well put together team. We lost some powerhouse hitters but we have good situational hitting this year."