Crowned: Kings dethrone Raiders for Gila Valley Region title

Kofa's nine run lead had shrunk to three, and Cibola had the tying run at the plate in the seventh inning of the team's game Tuesday.

The towering fly ball went off Jerry Renteria's bat, then off shortstop Anthony Ortiz's glove near the foul line, but deflected into Blake Johnston's.

 And when Johnston held up the ball, the Kings had a 12-9 home win and their first Gila Valley Region title, dethroning the Raiders who had won the last two.

 "It feels good," said Ortiz, who had three doubles, three runs scored and two RBI. "I've been waiting three years for this."

 Kofa (17-9 overall, 6-2 region) scored six in the first and opened a 10-1 lead after four. But Cibola (12-15, 4-4) scored five in the fifth - thanks in part to four straight two-out singles from the bottom four hitters in the Raider lineup to chase starter Kofa Preston Burrell (5-3).

 Kofa headed into the seventh up 12-8 and reliever Enrique Roldan got the first two outs, then appeared to get Krysthian Leal to ground out to end the game. But Leal was called safe, setting up a Daniel Vega single and a run-scoring double from Josh Contreras.

 Coach Richy Leon said that situation could have gotten a lot worse, but was pleased with the way his team handled it.

 "The guys stayed focus, and (catcher) Mark Wright came to me and said 'We got it, we got it,'" Leon said. "It's nice to have some of your guys step up and calm you down."

 So with two on and two out down three, Roldan got Renteria - who also was the Cibola starter and took the loss - to pop out and end the game.

 "They're a comeback team and they showed it today," Leon said. "But I'm very happy for our guys the way they came back and battled and stayed relentless. It feels great."

 After scoring six runs in the final inning of the teams' game last Friday, Kofa opened with six in the first off Renteria. Wright (2-for-4, two RBI, three runs), Jared Helms (2-for-4, three RBI) and Ortiz (3-for-3) had RBI hits in the inning.

 Those were the Kings only three hits in the innings, as Renteria walked five batters, four of which came around to score.

 "The walks killed us," Cibola coach Duane Evans said. "It snowballed on us. you don't go into that with someone warmed up and ready to go. It kind of caught us off guard. Scrambling and trying to get someone in there, that wasn't going to happen. He had to suck it up and get it done."

 Kofa added four in the fourth to take a 10-1 lead, capped by a two-run double from Helms.

 That's when Cibola began its comeback. Contreras hit a double to score Jose Vega, than Leal scored on a fielders choice that moved Contreras to third with two outs. Edgar Borquez, Alonso Dominguez, Hector de los Reyes and Alex Miranda singled consecutively as the Raiders cut the lead to 10-6.

 "We kept chipping away, putting the ball in play and making things happen," Evans said. "It's the way the game works. When you start putting a little pressure on their pitcher and their defense, good things are going to start happening instead of being against the wall and having to defend yourself."

 Kofa got two back in the bottom of the fifth when Wright doubled home Ortiz, then scored on a single by Travis Carter.

 In the sixth, Contreras and Renteria drove home runs off Roldan and Ortiz committed two errors as Kofa's lead

 "It kind of felt like we died down a little," Ortiz said. "But we still stayed with it and bounced back when they responded. They responded, we responded back."

 Borquez went 3-for-4, drove in two and scored once for Cibola, as well as pitched three innings of relief. Vega went 2-for-3 off the bench, while Contreras was 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Dominguez also added a pair of singles to the Raiders' 16-hit attack. Kofa had 11 hits.

 The teams finish up the regular season 4 p.m. today at Cibola. The Raiders need a win to help their playoff chances, while the Kings can all but guarantee a home playoff game Saturday with a victory - although they can have one even with a loss.