Chato Padilla celebrates with his teammates after scoring the winning run in Monday’s 8-7 state tournament victory over Arcadia. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Santa Cruz Little Leaguers race out of the dugout to congratulate Chato Padilla after he scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Shortstop Jax Raley and pitcher Chato Padilla share a light-hearted moment. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Owen Thomas celebrates after his first-inning single gives Santa Cruz a 2-0 lead. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Hatley Mathews delivers a pitch in the fourth inning. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Santa Cruz players watch the action from the dugout. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Santa Cruz fans look on intently. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Head coach Evan Raley rallies the troops after Arcadia takes a 7-3 lead in the fifth inning. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Chato Padilla slides home to score on in the third inning. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Jax Raley fouls off a pitch. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Hays Thomas listens in as third-base coach Evan Raley gives base-running instructions. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Shortstop Bailey Orona throws to first to retire an Arcadia batter. Photo by Dave Lumia
Chalk up another one for the comeback kids.
The Santa Cruz Little League All-Stars extended their season by rallying for five runs in the final inning Monday night to defeat Arcadia 8-7 in the loser’s bracket of the state championship tournament for 8-10-Year-Olds at Stone Complex in Sierra Vista.
The victory was every bit as remarkable as Santa Cruz’s postseason journey, which now stands at nine games—matching the number of players on the team’s small but mighty roster. Seven of the nine games have resulted in wins, and four of the wins by a single run.
“They didn’t quit,” Santa Cruz coach Evan Raley said. “We had a tough loss last game, and they responded. They’re a special team.”
While small of both stature and roster size, the Santa Cruz kids have been up to the task against much larger competition, securing victories over teams from Willcox, Sierra Vista, Benson, Douglas, Flagstaff and now Phoenix.
Next up is a game at 7:30 tonight (Tuesday) against Goodyear.
Monday night’s victory followed a similar come-from-behind script as Santa Cruz’s District 8 Championship victory over Douglas, but with a bit more drama.
Santa Cruz showed no ill effects from Friday night’s 20-5 loss to Four Peaks of Mesa, taking an early lead by scoring twice in the bottom of the first, capped by Owen Thomas’s run-scoring single.
Arcadia responded with three in the second and threatened again in the third, loading the bases with one out. Thomas was brought in to pitch and snuffed out the rally by retiring the next two batters, and Santa Cruz tied it up when Hatley Mathews singled to right field to score Chato Padilla.
But then the bats went cold, and Arcadia erupted for four runs in the top of the fifth to take a 7-3 lead. That’s where the score remained heading into the bottom of the sixth. Things looked bleak for Santa Cruz, with the bottom of the order due up.
Atlas Bohm got the rally started with a single to center field and moved up to third base after a pair of wild pitches. Jhett Hubbell and Hays Thomas both reached on walks, and the bases were loaded with no outs.
One out later, Jax Raley hit a sharp groundball up the middle that Arcadia’s shortstop couldn’t handle, and Bohm scored to narrow the deficit. Chato Padilla then walked to score Hubbell and make it 7-5.
The bases were still loaded after Owen Thomas was retired for the second out, and Mathews came to the plate as Santa Cruz’s last hope. But he never had to swing the bat.
Another wild pitch from Arcadia scored Hays Thomas, and Raley raced home on an ensuing throwing error to tie the game, with Padilla taking third base. But not for long. Another pitch bounced away from Arcadia’s catcher, and Padilla slid home with the winning run.
“We stuck to the plan and we executed,” Raley said. “I keep telling them we don’t need home runs, we need base runners. We’re trying to play the game of baseball, which is get people on base, get ’em over and get ’em in.
“We’ll keep it going as long as we can. I’ve got nowhere I have to be until the end of the month.”