AURORA | With a young team brimming with potential, Cherokee Trail baseball coach Allan Dyer wants to see how is players will react in pressure situations.

So without hesitation, the Cougars’ veteran boss gave sophomore Nick Perez a second straight suicide squeeze sign in the bottom of the seventh inning of a Centennial League nailbiter Tuesday.

The left-handed hitting designated hitter fouled off his first attempt, but two pitches later dropped down a perfect bunt as sophomore Conner Nantkes raced toward home plate with the run that gave Cherokee Trail a 5-4 walk-off victory.

Perez, mobbed by his teammates in the center of the diamond after the game-winning bunt, finished 3-for-4 as part of an 11-hit attack for the Cougars, who also got two hits apiece from Nantkes, Nick Leisge and Matt Meraz as they moved to 4-3.

Reliever Keven Mackintosh set down Arapahoe in the top of the seventh inning with his team trailing 4-3, giving them the chance to start a rally.

Meraz reached on a hard shot to shortstop to open the inning, moved up to second on sophomore Michael Morris’ sacrifice and scored the tying run on Nantkes’ RBI single to right field.

Nantkes motored from first to third when Leisge’s excuse me swing dropped a single down the right field line, setting the stage for Perez’s winning bunt.

Mackintosh picked up the win in reliever of Nantkes, as he tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

The two teams play each other again right away in the Centennial League’s new back-to-back format, with the Cougars making a 4:15 p.m. visit to the Warriors on Thursday.

Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel

CHEROKEE TRAIL 5, ARAPAHOE 4

Score by innings (r-h-e):

Arapahoe    001 030 0 — 4  7  1

Cher. Trail  002 001 2 — 5  11  0

WP — Cherokee Trail: Keven Mackintosh (2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3K); Cherokee Trail hitting: Nick Perez 3-4, RBI, run; Conner Nantkes 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, run; Matt Meraz 2-3, 2 runs; Nick Leisge 2-3, 2B, RBI

Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor and photographer with Sentinel Colorado. A Denver East High School and University of Colorado alum. He came to the Sentinel in 2001 and since then has received a number...