By Don Ketchum

Another state tournament, and another close game for Phoenix Sunnyslope’s baseball team.

The Vikings have been on both sides of the fence.

Last season, they took Vail Cienega to the limit before falling in the Class 4A Division I first round.

In 2011, a different story. Sunnyslope battled Glendale Raymond S. Kellis for the full seven innings before coming away with a 7-6 victory in a first-round game on Saturday (May 7) at Sunnyslope.

Seventh-seeded Sunnyslope advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday (May 11), where it will face defending champion and top-seeded Scottsdale Saguaro at 7 p.m. at Camelback Ranch Stadium in Glendale. Sunnyslope played Saguaro earlier this season and lost 7-2.

“We know Ryan (Dyer, Saguaro coach) has a great team,’’ Sunnyslope coach Jeff Shillington said. “We’re going to have to go out and battle them – pitch well, play good defense and execute.’’

The Vikings did all of that on Saturday, but Raymond S. Kellis (16-13) matched them stride for stride.

Raymond S. Kellis, the No. 10 seed, spotted Sunnyslope a 5-0 lead, but came back to tie it after scoring three runs in the third inning and two in the fourth.

Sunnyslope edged back in front 6-5 in the fourth on an RBI triple by Robert Heath, and got a big insurance run in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Max Fabricant.

The Vikings needed that run because Raymond S. Kellis cut the lead to 7-6 when Joey Strecker scored on a throwing error.

Freshman left-hander Calvin Lebrun retired the side in order in the seventh to finish off his complete game.

The 5-foot-9, 135-pound Lebrun gave up eight hits, walked four, struck out three and hit three batters – actually, the same batter three times – Reynaldo Espinoza.

Shillington considered lifting Lebrun after six innings, “but he convinced me he could get it done. You have to trust guys like that, guys who got you here.’’

Raymond S. Kellis had shut out Sunnyslope 4-0 earlier in the season and Shillington said, “They are a great team and we knew we would have to play them tough. Give them credit. They showed up and battled us all the way.’’