Jason Herrera, Las Vegas Cats advance to Connie Mack final after winning two thrillers

When Friday’s game went into extra innings, Las Vegas Cats baseball coach Aldo Mora knew it was just a matter of time before one of his players would step up to put his team over the top.

It was an unconventional ending, but No. 9 hitter Jason Herrera was the one to make things happen.

Herrera’s base hit and aggressive baserunning in the 10th inning led to the game’s decisive run, and the Cats defeated the Southern Nevada Falcons 7-6 in the losers’ bracket final of the Connie Mack state baseball tournament at the College of Southern Nevada.

The victory was the second of the day for Las Vegas, which advanced to Saturday’s championship game. The Cats will play the Summerlin Panthers at 10 a.m. at CSN. They must beat the Panthers twice to claim the title.

Herrera led off the 10th with a sharp grounder into left field, and he stole second base to put himself into scoring position.

“We got Jason on base and we got him to second,” Mora said. “We figured we were in Vegas so we had to gamble.”

With brother Jarred Herrera at the plate, Jason Herrera attempted to steal third. Falcons third baseman Brayden Griffie wasn’t expecting the throw, which caromed off his glove and into the shallow part of the outfield. Herrera never hesitated, and came around to score the winning run.

“That was a battle up and down, the entire game,” Mora said. “But that’s what we hope for. We hope to see games like that because it brings out the true nature of the kids.”

The Cats took control early, scoring two runs in the first inning and three more in the fourth to go ahead 5-1.

Southern Nevada scored one run in the third, and eventually chased Las Vegas starter Kevin Verduzco with five runs in the fifth. The Falcons took a 6-5 lead with the help of key RBI singles by Anthony Pannullo, Chayse Parenteau, Tommy Dirk and Andrew Hauck.

Las Vegas tied it with an RBI double by Diego Delgado in the sixth, a run that would ultimately send the game into extra innings.

Cats reliever Noel Perez helped make the dramatic ending possible by allowing no runs over 5 1/3 innings of work.

“He’s someone we’ve been keeping in our back pocket,” Mora said. “Noel’s been the horse for us out there in the ‘pen all season.”

Delgado went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk to lead the Las Vegas, while teammates David Campbell, Ryan Freimuth and Jason Herrera had two hits apiece.

Dirk went 4-for-5 with an RBI to lead Southern Nevada.

Las Vegas Cats 12, Green Valley Elite 11 — The Cats also rallied earlier in the day to defeat the top-seeded Elite in a losers’ bracket semifinal.

Green Valley took control early, thanks to poor defensive play by the Cats. The Elite scored six runs on just one hit in the first inning, courtesy of three errors, two walks and a hit batsman.

But Las Vegas chipped away at the deficit and took a 10-9 lead with the help of a five-run fifth inning that featured key RBI hits by Antonio Gaxiola and Ben Bowen.

Gaxiola went 4-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs to lead Las Vegas, which overcame seven defensive errors. Teammate Nate Freimuth went 4-for-4 with a double, a triple and three RBIs.

Jake Empey had two hits to lead Green Valley, which fell just short with a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh.