By Don Ketchum

“Many memories were made today.’’

Those were the words of Tucson Catalina pitcher Nicco Blank after he and his sixth-seeded team stunned top-seeded Phoenix Thunderbird by scoring seven runs in the ninth inning for an 8-4 victory and capturing the Class 4A Division II baseball championship on Saturday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Blank made his share of memories.

The right-hander scattered eight hits through 8 2/3 innings, and collected two, that’s right, two, hits in the big ninth. He started the inning with a single and later hit a two-run triple.

The Gila Region Pitcher of the Year said he was only supposed to go three or four innings, “but the adrenalin kicked in and I was going pretty good. There were a lot of guys busting their tails out there for me on defense.’’

Alec Esquivel was particularly strong in center field, running down several deep drives into the gaps.

In addition to Blank, Robby Pearson, Aaron Esquivel, and Ricky Garayzar had run-scoring hits in the ninth inning for Catalina, which finished 22-11.

Marcus Wheeler and Jake Stiak had two hits each for Thunderbird, which finished 27-4.

“We kept seeing this in our minds, playing in this game,’’ said Catalina coach Tony Gabusi. “The only way we wouldn’t is if we messed things up for ourselves, fail to make grades or some other things. We got in our way a couple of times, but we managed to survive.’’