Merced College softball team falls short in playoffs

The Merced College softball season came to end with a 6-1 loss in the third game of the best-of-three NorCal Playoff series against Diablo Valley College on Sunday in Pleasant Hill.

Bailey Simmons led the seventh-seeded Vikings, going 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs against She-Devils starter Jessica Arias. Nicole Nordahl limited tenth-seeded Merced College (27-13) to just four hits.

The Vikings (28-14-1) will face No. 2 seed Fresno City in a four-team Super Regional in Fresno on Friday.

Cynthia Duenas also doubled and had two RBIs, and Laurel Poff had three hits and scored a run for DVC.

The She-Devils forced the third game by winning Game 2 8-2 earlier on Sunday behind a strong performance from Arias, who allowed just one earned run on six hits.

Merced College took a 1-0 lead when Arisa Nishibe doubled in Sabrina Alvarado in the top of the third inning.

The She-Devils broke open the game with a six-run fourth inning. Alvarado delivered a two-run single during the rally and a Vikings error helped MC score two runs.

Nishibe doubled twice, and Nishibe, Alvarado and Shelbee Ward each drove in two runs.

The Vikings won the opening game of the series 6-1 on Saturday. Duenas hit a three-run homer to spark DVC, and Nordahl fired a four-hitter.

Alvarado had two hits for the She-Devils.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Merced College softball team falls short in playoffs."