This was not a typical Troy Balko outing, and Tucson Salpointe Catholic was not the typical Sunrise Mountain opponent.

The No. 8-seeded Lancers battered Balko in the top of the first inning with a two bloop singles and a double to take a 2-0 lead. But the Mustangs’ ace picked up two strikeouts to stop the bleeding, then gutted his way through a six-inning 11-stirkeout performance, only allowing one more run.

"After the first inning I was talking to myself, saying I’ve got to execute more this game, hit my spots better and finish. This is a lot better of a team than I faced earlier. They put me to the test," Balko said.

He also received help from every spot in the order, as every Sunrise Mountain batter other than Balko picked up at least one hit in the 6-3 win. With junior Caleb Thomason on in relief and Balko at first, the starter put away the Lancers, catching a liner behind the base runner and stepping on first for the game-ending double play.

This 4A third round victory May 2 at Tempe Diablo Stadium gives the Mustangs a week off. They will be back at the Angels’ spring training stadium at 6:30 p.m. May 9 to play the winner of Salpointe’s game Saturday with No. 1 seed Nogales.

Win that, and No. 4 Sunrise Mountain (27-3) earns another healthy break before the May 14 final at HoHokam Stadium in Mesa.

"Our whole theme is riding this energy bus and believing in the positive," Gardner said. "We told the guys in the playoffs — I’ve been doing this a long time — you’re going to get punched in the face you’re going to have to punch back. I think these guys are riding on a bus that’s going to keep going."

Facing that 2-0 deficit after sophomore Levi Padilla’s bloop single, senior Efrain Cervantez’s double to deep center and senior Daniel Durazo’s 2 RBI single to shallow center, the Mustangs did the same thing as in Saturday’s first round victory over Cottonwood Mingus ­­— got even quickly.

Sophomore Jacob Stockton hit a one-out double to center field. Junior Ethan Snograss lifted a fly ball to right field that the outfielder appeared to have a bead on but dropped. Snodgrass advanced to second and Stockton slid in safe at home.

Junior Noah Thompson smacked a two-out triple down the left center power alley to tie the game at 2. Balko picked up a quick 1-2-3 second inning and the bottom half of the Mustangs’ order went to work.

Junior Jarrett Kellerhals and senior E.J. Sua hit singles and Thomason moved both over on a sacrifice bunt. Senior Tyler Pruitt’s grounder to the right side brought Kellerhals home and Sua to third, then Sua scored on a balk to make it 4-2.

"Guys like Jarrett Kellerhals had a big game, with three knocks. When it was 4-3 and we got two runs in the (fifth) inning and we got two runs it give us some insurance. Noah’s triple early was huge, Jarett was consistently hitting to the middle of the field and I don’t think they had an answer for him," Gardner said. "We knew (Salpointe) was scrappy. They had some pesky at bats against Troy. And we had to fight them all the way through."

Salpointe (18-12) made what turned out to be its final rally in the top of the fourth. Junior Mikey Villa led off with a single and took second after a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. Junior Ryan Grabosch singled to drive him in and cut the lead to one.

Balko fanned the next batter, walked junior Ian Ponce and received clutch defense for the third out — a bang-bang play at first.

Mustang’ gloves were crucial in the fifth. The infield defense allowed Balko to send the Lancers down in order in less than 10 pitches — allowing him to pitch in the sixth.

"The defense behind me has always been great and I always trust them," Balko said.

By the sixth, the ace had a cushion. Stockton just beat out a throw to first thanks to a bobble and Snodgrass singled up the middle. They advanced to second and third on a fielder’s choice.

Then senior Trevor Pruitt’s infield single deep in the hole at short allowed Troy Rasmussen (running for Snodgrass) to score. Kellerhals followed with an RBI single for the final margin.

Sunrise Mountain enters the semifinal on a 17-game winning streak.

Sunrise Mountain's Troy Balko throws a pitch against Salpointe Catholic on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]