Phoenix Xavier softball coach Bobby Pena sat on a bucket and carefully crafted words on another memento designed for Stephanie Janes' dresser.

It was the final game ball from Thursday's no-hitter, which moved the Gators one step closer to topping last spring's surprising season.

Xavier's 5-0 victory against Mesa in the 5A Division I state tournament at Rose Mofford Softball Complex means the Gators (25-8) will play Desert Valley Region rival Glendale Mountain Ridge at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

That volume of games against one opponent bothers Pena, but those are the breaks if it means advancing to play one more.

Janes' second no-hitter of the season was played out as efficiently as the offense behind her. Jordan Nelssen walked twice for the Jackrabbits, Bri Robles walked once and the Gators committed one error. Tess Casey took away Mesa's best chance with a diving stop of Robles' grounder in the sixth.

Otherwise, it was cruise control. Janes struck out 12 batters to surpass 200 for the season.

"She had all her pitches working today," Pena said.

Caitlin Bayley's bat has been working all season, and the lefty did it again with two hits and two RBIs. She started the scoring in the first inning and did again as part of a three-run third inning to break the game open. Amity Tello drove in two runs with a double and the Gators were barely bothered by a strong wind blowing in.

Still, it was an impressive run for Mesa (21-14) in a tournament they once figured wouldn't be part of the season's plans, let alone reaching Rose Mofford.

"You run the best race you can and sometimes their horse wins that race," Mesa coach Bob Watson said. "I think our road to here went pretty well."

The Gators' road remains open, but an all-too-familiar roadblock awaits.

"They're good, we're good," Pena said of Mountain Ridge, which the Gators beat three times this season. "It'll come down to who's more motivated."