Mountain Pointe’s season was on the line, and all closer Josh Alexander could do was smile.

Mesquite scored three runs in the top of the seventh and had the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second, but the senior right-hander struck out Rocky High with a fastball on the outside corner as the Pride held on for the 7-6 victory in the 5A-I baseball state semifinals on Thursday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

“I love it,” Alexander said of being the closer. “It pumps me up so much. Just to know that the game is on your shoulders, it’s fun. It’s what you live for.”

Mountain Pointe entered the frame with a four-run cushion, but the first three runners reached against starter Joey Rocha, so Alexander was called on to extinguish the flames.

The Mesquite faithful were in a frenzy, as the Wildcats seemed destined for another one of their patented late-game heroics. And while Alexander allowed a pair of hits, he stranded the two most important runners on the basepaths to lead Mountain Pointe to the title game.

The Pride will take on No. 1 seed Desert Ridge on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Camelback Ranch in Glendale.

High struck out looking, and argued that the ball was outside. Alexander agreed.

“My man Kevin (Cron), he had a nice frame on that ball,” Alexander said. “That ball was a good six inches outside.”

It was the second game of the day between the teams, after Zach Davies threw a three-hit shutout for the 4-0 victory in the opener, handing Mountain Pointe its first loss in the double-elimination tournament.

It was a rare sight to see the Pride’s powerful offense shut down, and it wasted no time bouncing back in the second game.

Mesquite took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first of the second game, but the Pride answered with three of their own in the bottom of the frame.

The score was tied 3-3 until Mountain Pointe scored four runs in the fourth inning, the big blast a one-out triple by Jordan Kipper.

“If you’re going to win these games, you have to make big plays,” Mountain Pointe coach Brandon Buck said.

Mesquite cut the deficit to one run with only one out in the seventh, but Alexander shut the door.

Cron went 2-for-6 in the two games with a double and an intentional walk despite a leg injury that made it hard for him to move around. He threw a complete game in the opener, was behind the plate for the second game and was immediately lifted for a pinch-runner on the basepaths.

Cron has 21 home runs this season, one shy of tying the state record set by Desert Vista’s Corey Myers in 1999. He almost got there in the third inning of the second game, when a blast to straightaway center field hit high on the wall but stayed in the park for a double.