By Don Ketchum

Tyger Talley is as confident in his analysis of the Scottsdale Chaparral baseball team as he is in his pitching.

“Chaparral always plays its best baseball at the end of the year, and that’s a fact,’’ he said.

So it would seem.

The Firebirds won the Class 5A Division II state championship a year ago, and this season entered the new Division I tournament as the No. 2 seed.

They disposed of 5A-I champion Phoenix Mountain Pointe in the second round, and on Thursday (May 3) rallied from a two-run deficit with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat seventh-seeded rival Scottsdale Desert Mountain 3-2 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Chaparral (25-7) advances to the next round of the double-elimination tournament on Saturday (May 5) at 4 p.m. at Muni and will face the winner of a later game on Thursday between third-seeded Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor and No. 6 Gilbert Mesquite.

Desert Mountain (21-10) will meet the loser of the O’Connor-Mesquite contest in a 1:30 p.m. game on Saturday at Muni.

Talley, a senior right-hander, scattered four hits and struck out 13 to raise his record to 6-0.

“I stuck with my slider, stuck with what I know best,’’ Talley said.

He has played with and against the Desert Mountain players for quite awhile.

“I know their lineup from top to bottom,’’ he said.

Of course, the Wolves know him, too. But that’s what makes games like this so interesting.

“Tyger was fantastic,’’ said Chaparral coach Sam Messina.

Talley gave up a two-run double to Tim Willites in the fourth inning, but settled down after that.

Desert Mountain junior right-hander Cody Erickson also was pitching a strong game. He gave up just one hit through the first five innings.

The sixth was a much different story.

Dylan Cozens, who transferred from Desert Mountain to Chaparral, led off and unloaded a monster home run over the scoreboard in right field to cut the lead to 2-1. It was his 17^th of the season. Not many major leaguers have done that.

“I don’t think it has landed yet,’’ Talley said afterward.

Chaparral tied it when pinch-runner John Sealy scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Collin Gabel. Sealy slid just wide of the plate, forcing the catcher to stretch out his tag. Catcher Eric Brossart hit a single to right to bring home pinch-runner Alec Zeidler with what proved to be the winning run.

Of the rally, Messina said, “It’s a matter of trusting your hitters.’’

It was a tough loss, but Desert Mountain coach Bryan Rice and his team will move on.

“I don’t think this team ever does things the easy way,’’ he said. “But we have a lot of heart. We have had a lot of games like this, and we have too much pride to give in.’’