Sunrise Mountain was down 2-0 to Casteel after the first inning, again.

And just like the last time they played, on April 22, Sunrise Mountain responded. But this time it did so on a bigger stage, Hohokam Stadium in Friday's 5A baseball state semifinals.

Spurred by a four run third inning and its pitching, Sunrise Mountain eliminated Casteel, 7-2. On Tuesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium, Sunrise Mountain will play Desert Mountain for the 5A crown.

“I was proud of them,” Sunrise Mountain coach Michael Deardoff said. “You never know how kids are going to respond when they get punched in the face early. It took us a couple of innings, but they kept battling and fighting. There didn’t seem to be a lot of panic today.”

When the bats come around, Sunrise Mountain’s level of play elevates, Deardoff added.

That happened when it defeated highly ranked Desert Mountain in extra innings on May 5. In the semifinals, it took Deardoff’s team 2 and 1/3 innings to figure out a pitcher it hadn’t seen, freshman lefty Mason Russell.

Sunrise Mountain’s hitters in the bottom of the order, Bryce Kellerhals and Ryne Palmer, collected the first hits with a pair of singles. Two more hits follwed as well as a pass ball and a wild pitch, which Sunrise Mountain used to score its first four runs.

On the mound, after a 2-run opposite field blast by Casteel designated hitter Nick Pisano in the first inning, Nick Lustig surrendered just two more hits before right-handed pitcher Alex Ramirez stepped in to start the fifth inning.

Ramirez walked two and hit two batters, but he didn’t allow a run to score in three innings. He also contributed a stand up RBI triple in the fifth inning. Casteel, the 8th seed, finished with a 13-8 record and reached the semifinals in coach Matt Denny’s first full season as head coach.

Because of Lustig and Ramirez’s strong outings, No. 5 seed Sunrise Mountain’s (18-5) pitching staff will be well-rested for the final. As for its lineup, the team’s leadoff hitter, Adam Moser, cataloged a life-long memory after showcasing his power in the fourth inning.

The senior drove a fastball just over the centerfield fence at the Spring Training home of the Oakland Athletics.

“This whole game was about our team trying to get to the state championship game,” Moser said. “We all just rallied together. We went out there and competed. The pitchers pitched really well and were able to pull out a win. Now on to Tuesday.”

Sunrise Mountain is headed to the final for the fourth time, and it’ll be Deardoff’s second trip to the big game.

When he was at Raymond S. Kellis, his team won the 5A crown in 2017.

Sunrise MountainDesert Mountain holds off rival Horizon

The pitch limit was 105 for Desert Mountain’s Brock Jessup.

Jontae Hennesy, who hit a 3-run homer in the game, launched that 105th pitch to left field with a runner on third and two outs and Horizon trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning. But John Beasley caught the long fly ball at Hohokam Stadium to send Desert Mountain to the 5A Conference final and initiate his team's celebration on the field.

“It’s awesome,” Jessup said. “It’s awesome. I was a sophomore when we lost in the semifinals against Nogales, so this is just amazing.”

Jessup retired 13 of the last 15 batters he faced in his complete game six hit, seven strikeout outing.

Desert Mountain, trailing 3-1 entering the fourth inning, scored three runs in that frame thanks to three hits and two Horizon errors. This was the second time in three meetings that Desert Mountain defeated Horizon this season.

Each game was won by one run.

“There’s a lot of mutual respect between our teams,” said Desert Mountain coach Ryan Dyer, who will make his third trip to a final.

Dyer won two rings when he coached at Saguaro.

Desert Mountain (19-4) left the bases loaded twice, but credit Horizon’s pitchers for getting out of trouble. Junior Grant Richardson pitched three scoreless innings in relief and struck out six for 17-6 Horizon, and teammates Dominic Chacon and Jace Behnke each had two hits.

If Jessup, who returned from injury this season, reached the 105 pitch limit and was still on the mound, the plan was to replace him with shortstop/Player of the Year candidate Wes Kath (2-for-2 with 2 walks). Kath has only pitched four innngs this season.

But the gutsy Jessup finished the job he was handed.

Desert Mountain’s Brock Jessup