The sullen faces and baseball gear being slammed to the ground felt too familiar. It happened again.

Top-seeded Scottsdale Notre Dame had a chance to one-up last season’s second-place finish in 4A Division II baseball, but the frustration lingered longer after a 4-1 loss to Cottonwood Mingus in the state championship game on Saturday ended the Saints’ season. In second place. Again.

Consecutive runner-up seasons would be welcome by many, but Notre Dame (29-4) had its sights set one rung higher: A 23rd consecutive win to end the season.

“We’re in shock right now,” Saints coach Gaetano Gianni said. “... We’ve come a long way and it’s been a good year. We just didn’t expect this.”

The Saints had been a model of offense for most of the season, cruising through 4A-II and the first two rounds of the tournament. Things got dicey on Friday night before Notre Dame pulled out a thriller in nine innings against Chandler Seton Catholic. Whether there was a hangover from the night before may never be known.

After losing nine seniors from last season and a couple in-season due to eligibility issues, Mingus (22-11) largely won its first-ever state title from the pitcher’s mound.

Trevor Sanderlin proved too tough for the Saints. The burly right-hander went the distance, walked two batters and never allowed Notre Dame more than one hit per inning.

“We knew they were the best team we’d see all year,” Mingus coach Greg Beauchman said.

Still, one run allowed to a Saints team which averaged nine per game all season?

“No, I didn’t see that coming,” Beauchman said. “Not at all.”

Both teams made three diving plays defensively for outs, but the Marauders got two runs in the third and single runs in the fifth and seventh.

The Saints’ Matt Ozanne hit a one-out triple in the third and scored on Andy Wilder’s sacrifice fly.

That was all the Saints could push across, while fury filled their faces.

“It’s been an outstanding run,” Gianni said. “We have to find a way to win these games.”