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Sunnyvale softball team makes history with first playoff win
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
Sunnyvale made its fourth playoff appearance in school history on Monday in search of something it had never done before--walking off the field as the winning team.
The Raiders achieved that goal in emphatic fashion, posting a 10-0 victory over Eustace in a Class 2A bi-district playoff game at Kaufman High School.
Sunnyvale (16-9) moves on to the second round of the playoffs where it will face state-ranked Grandview in a best-of-3 series starting on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Red Oak. The second game is slated for Friday at 6 p.m. in Red Oak, with the third game, if necessary, to be played after game two.
"I had not seen Eustace this year, so I really wasn't sure how it was going to go," Sunnyvale head coach Shea Holmes said. "This was big, we had been to the second round because we had a bye after winning district, but this was our first actual playoff win, so the girls were excited and it gives us a lot of confidence going forward."
It was a tight game through four innings, with Sunnyvale clinging to a 1-0 run lead, but the offense exploded from there.
The Raiders scored three runs in the fifth, four in the sixth and two more in the seventh to blow the game open.
"I thought it was just a matter of time, we were hitting the ball well early on, but they (Eustace) made some great plays," Holmes said. "We finally got some to fall in and it went from there."
As it turned out, the single run would have been plenty for Sunnyvale starter Meagan Flores. The senior struck out eight of the first nine hitters she faced and finished with 14 punch-outs while allowing only four hits in a complete-game shutout.
"She is a senior and she has that experience where she knows where we are and she did not want this to be her last game," Holmes said. "She really played hard."
While Eustace was unable to get to Flores all game long, it took a while for the Raiders to get going themselves.
Peyton Winkfein led off the game with a base hit and came around to score to make it 1-0, but that would be it until the fifth inning when the bats woke up.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Kayla Marshburn singled, moved to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch for the second run.
Sunnyvale was not done, as Flores walked and came around on a double by Megan Curry. Hannah Laird followed with a RBI single to make it 4-0.
After Flores pitched out of a rare jam with two runners on in the bottom of the fifth, the offense went back to work in the top of the sixth.
Molly Moss reached base to start the inning and scored on a single by Winkfein. Marshburn and Flores followed with run-scoring base hits, with Flores being plated after an illegal pitch was called to push the lead to 8-0.
Sunnyvale tacked on two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh, as Chanlynn Turner drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on an error, with Winkfein adding a RBI single later in the frame to provide the final margin.
The victory made for an enjoyable bus ride back to the school after the game. But the team also understands that if it wants another one of those, it will have to quickly shift its focus toward its state-ranked opponent starting on Thursday.
"They have a great team and it is going to be a tough match-up, so we need to adjust our batting to face a faster pitcher and get our defense ready for their bats," Holmes said. "These next few days of practice are going to be crucial to make sure we are ready to play."
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