The Eagles staged a late rally May 9 at Tempe Diablo Stadium, but fell just short in a 9‑8 squeaker to Paradise Valley in the consolation championship of Pool B of the 5A‑Division II state tournament.

O’Connor (20‑16) was fighting for a semifinal appearance, but still capped its most successful season ever with three wins in the 16‑team, double‑elimination tournament.

The 10th‑seeded Eagles lost to No. 2‑seed Paradise Valley both times in the tournament, but they put a scare into the Trojans in the elimination game. O’Connor found itself down 9‑3 in the fourth inning, but 10 hits and four Paradise Valley errors tightened up the game.

Clark McCarthy relieved Josh Moody in the fourth inning and did not allow an earned run the rest of the way. That allowed the Eagles to chip away at the deficit with two runs in the top of the sixth, then three more in the top of the seventh. But the rally fell one run short and the Eagles’ season ended a run shy of the Final Four.

Super sophomore Nick Carrillo hit two triples in the game, while Travis Lane went 3‑for‑3 with three runs. Seven Eagles batters drove in runs during the game.

Lane ended the season as the Eagles’ batting leader, finishing with a .452 average. Carrillo, who was third on the team at .413, led O’Connor in homers (nine) and RBIs (42). Moody ended the season 8‑5 with a 2.55 ERA on the mound.