Junior Joey Cassano’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning powered second-ranked Auburn Mountainview to an 8-9 win over Peninsula on Saturday, earning the Lions the West Central District III/Southwest District 4 title and a No. 1 seed into the state 3A tournament.

After falling into a 8-0 hole after three innings, the Lions (22-3) narrowed the gap with seven runs in the bottom of the third inning.

In the seventh, Auburn Mountainview senior Josh Minton smashed a pinch hit double to right center, sending in the tying run to push the game into extra innings and set the stage for Cassano’s game-winning home run.

Senior Nick Brooks finished 2-of-3 from the plate with a home run and three RBIs for the Lions. Sophomore Mason Cerrillo belted a home run and three RBIs and senior Shawn Guinn added an RBI.

Sophomore pitcher Justin Marsden earned the win in relief, giving up four hits and striking out three in 3.2 innings of work.

Senior Alex Weymiller was tagged with the loss for Peninsula (15-9).

The Lions begin play open state against No. 7 Glacier Peak at 1 p.m. this Saturday at Ed Wheeler Field in Centralia.

A win earns Auburn Mountainview a second game at 4 p.m. against the winner of the Decatur versus O’Dea game.

The state 3A tourney continues on May 24 at GESA Stadium in Pasco.