Catalina Foothills' Dante DeNiro delivers an RBI single vs.Seton in the 4A state tourney. (AzPreps365 photo)

It was quite a night for Catalina Foothills do-everything guy Dante DeNiro. Call the night Dante's Inferno to steal from a better author.

DeNiro had a hand in offense, defense and pitching Wednesday helping #2 Catalina Foothills edge #3 Seton Catholic, 3-1, in a 4A state baseball winner's bracket game at HoHoKam Stadium.

Catalina Foothills (23-7) gets a week off from play by winning. They Falcons next play on Wednesday May 9 at 4 p.m. at Diablo Stadium. Their opponent will be the winner of an elimination game Saturday May 5 between Seton and St. Mary's. Seton and St. Mary's play that day at 4 p.m. at Diablo. Seton (25-2) had an 18-game winning streak snapped dating back to March 13.

DeNiro, a senior who started at catcher and finished up on the mound, began the little scoring the game produced. He lined a two-out, RBI single to left in the third fpr a 1-0 lead. Before and after that hit, he he gunned down Seton runners trying to steal in the second and fifth innings. After Seton tied the game in the fourth on  Mike Venable's sacrifice fly, DeNiro saved his best for last.

Taking over for starting pitcher Cole Altherr to open the top of the sixth, Deniro was greeted with a double by Seton's Mike Kenney and a bunt hit by Venable. The next six outs never made it past the pitcher's mound. DeNiro reached back and struck out the side leaving in the sixth leaving runners at first and third.

Clutch two-out RBI singles in Catalina Foothills' half of the sixth broke a 1-1 tie. Pinch-hitter Logan Sanders made it 2-1 with a hit to left. No. 9 hitter Noah Cullen followed with another hit giving DeNiro a cushion as he took to the hill for the seventh.

DeNIro quickly fanned the first two batters of the seventh making it five strikeouts in a row. The final out was a sizzling comebacker that DeNiro reflexively gloved and fllipped to first sending his teammates into a brief frenzy along the third baseline.

Both starting pitchers threw well. Altherr allowed three hits, a run and fanned seven in five innings of work. Seton's Luke Bell also went five innings and gave up four hits, two runs and fanned seven.

 

 

 

#11 St. Mary's 9, #7 Thunderbird 0: Angel Montoya  pitched around trouble in the first two innings and finished with a flourish hurling the Knights past the Chiefs in an elimination game.

Montoya walked five batters and gave up one of the two hits he allowed in six innings of work in the first two innings. Double plays in each inning helped him out of jams.

St. Mary's, which pounded out 13 hits, broke on top in the third thanks to an RBI single by Gio Jasso (four hits and three RBI for the afternoon0 and a sacrfice fly by Aidan Sanford.

The Knights tacked on two runs in the fourth, three in th fifth and two in the seventh to finish up the scoring. Joey Zubia equaled Jasso in RBI with three on a pair of singles. Leadoff hitter Thad Tanner collected three hits and scored twice.

St. Mary's plays again in an elimination game on Saturday (May 5) at 4 p.m. against the loser of the Seton Catholic-Catalina Foothhills game.