SAN JOSE >> Soquel High’s baseball team has converted late inning heroics into improbable wins on multiple occasions this season.

The Knights dug deep again in their biggest game of the season Friday and rallied for a 7-6 victory over host Leigh in the teams’ nonleague thriller — a marquee matchup in the Central Coast Section.

Soquel (14-1 overall), ranked No. 7 in the CCS by maxpreps.com, rallied from a 6-2 deficit and produced the decisive run in the seventh inning to knock off the No. 6 Longhorns (11-2), a four-time section champion and 2024 D-II finalist.

“This was huge for us, because this (team, Leigh) is a big-time program,” said Knights coach TJ Moran. “They’ve had a lot of success, they’re highly ranked this year, and their schedule has been really good. For us to come in here and do this, and the type of game it was, just shows that we can really play with anybody. We firmly believe it.”

Conor Corlett drew a leadoff walk in the seventh. He moved to second after batter Trey Sousa was hit on the foot by a pitch, and was held up at third on Cash Moran’s one-out single to load the bases. Corlett scored the eventual game-winning run as Hudson Summerill reached on a fielder’s choice, a force out at second base as the Longhorns attempted to turn an inning ending double play.

“We’re just playing Soquel baseball,” Corlett said. “This team is really good and we play together, and got the win.”

Soquel has shown a penchant for producing late inning comebacks. It scored twice in the seventh in a 5-4 walk-off win over Willow Glen on March 11, exploded for five runs in the ninth in a 7-4 win over Leland on March 22, and scored thrice in the seventh of a 4-2 win over Scotts Valley on April 2.

“We’ve got a lot of fight,” Corlett said. “We’re a second-half team, definitely. We do a lot near the end of the game. We’re capable of a lot. We’ve got a ton of hitters, a ton of pitchers, and great defense. We just got to put it all together and it going to be good.”

Jake Escalate stranded seven runners on base during his 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and picked up a hard-earned win.

Kane Humecky recored the final two outs to pick up the save.

“It was an overall team win, no matter what the ups and downs were,” Escalante said. “Everybody put the bat on the ball, everybody threw strikes. It was an overall team win.”

Both teams kept swinging until the final out of this heavyweight slugfest.

Leigh had the game-tying run on first base when No. 5 hitter Lance Takamura tomahawked a high-fastball from Humecky to backpedaling left fielder Brady Downs on the warning track.

Both teams emptied their bullpens and each pitcher struggled with his control, at times. Hitters from both teams were patient in their approach and there were plenty of balls put into play. Defense was at a premium.

Escalante staked the Knights to a 2-0 lead in the third inning on his two-run single, which plated Enzo Goff and Corlett.

But the Longhorns, who have a .405 team batting average, exploded for six runs in the bottom half of the frame, thanks in part to Noah Miller’s two-run triple and Marcus Glanville’s two-run double.

“Our lineup, up and down, is just really solid,” Miller said. “There’s not really one guy that’s not a tough out, so I think that’s really good for us.”

Soquel knotted the score at 6-all in the top of the fourth. Goff and Escalante had RBI singles, and Corlett drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. With two out, Escalante was picked off first base, but he stayed in a pickle long enough for Sousa to score from third.

“It shows that nothing is going to stop us,” said Escalate, of overcoming the early deficit. “If we go down whatever, 10-0 in the first inning, don’t be afraid. We’re coming back after you guys, especially the opponent.”

Soquel had two runners picked off and a third was caught stealing. Knights catcher Cash Moran also shined on defense and threw out a pair of runners attempting to steal bases.

Leigh stranded 12 runners on base. Soquel, playing without starting third baseman and No. 2 hitter Gabe Virgallito, who is on vacation, stranded three, including two in the seventh inning.

“We put up our best fight, but they just had the upper hand,” Miller said. “We learned we need to focus on each play. If we made the simple plays we definitely would’ve come out on top. I was really surprised they bounced back. They had some guys who had some clutch hits, as well.”

It was the Knights’ lone game scheduled during spring break. They’ll return to action Tuesday at 4 p.m., when they host San Lorenzo Valley (2-10, 0-5).

While the junior-laden Knights are showing all the characteristics of a section champion, their first goal is to win the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title. Their lone loss this season was a 3-2 setback against league leading Santa Cruz (8-3, 5-0) on March 25.

Soquel scored a run in the seventh inning of that loss.

The Knights are feeling good about themselves right now, and rightfully so.

“I’m just telling the opponents to watch out; we’ve got something brewing,” Escalante said.