Falcons offense silenced, CCC champs bow out of playoffs

It didn’t take long for Atwater High softball coach Robert Santistevan to analyze what went wrong in the Falcons’ 3-0 loss to Bear Creek of Stockton on Tuesday in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs.

He didn’t have to look over the scorebook and replay the game in his mind.

“Let’s make this simple,” Santistevan said. “We didn’t hit. They hit, we didn’t. Our defense kept us in the game. I credit their little pitcher. She did a good job.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for the sixth-seeded Falcons (16-6-1), who had a tough time adjusting to Bruins starter Mia Zapata.

The freshman right-hander did her best to keep the ball down in the zone against Atwater and the Falcons struggled making solid contact.

“I think she was one of the slowest pitchers we faced,” said Atwater freshman Sarah Worden, who went 2-for-3 with a double. “We couldn’t get our bats to the ball.”

The 11th-seeded Bruins (19-8-1) used the same combination of Saige Pye and Marrissa Stockton to score runs in the first and third innings.

The Georgia Tech-bound Pye came into the game hitting .590 with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs on the season. She proved those statistics were earned against Falcons ace Cheyenne Mahy by going 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs.

Pye led off the game with a sharp single and advanced to second on a ground ball to first. Marrissa Stockton then singled in Pye to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

Pye led off the third inning by lacing a triple to right field and scored on Stockton’s second RBI single to extend the Bear Creek lead to 2-0.

Meanwhile, the Falcons managed to get runners on base, but couldn’t knock them in.

Atwater left two runners on base in the first inning after singles by Maritza Iglesias and Katie Bettis. The Falcons then loaded the bases with one out with three consecutive singles by Worden, Katyln Lawrence and Jenna Johnston.

However, Zapata was able to escape the jam by get a grounder to first with Jenna Balasey firing home for the force out. Iglesias then popped out to Pye at shortstop to end the threat.

“When we left runners on base, we knew we get those runners back,” Worden said. “We just needed those hits. We got hits, just not at the right time.”

The Falcons left nine baserunners on in total.

Bear Creek did its part not to give Atwater much help. The Bruins were flawless on defense and Zapata only issued two walks.

Bear Creek finished with 10 hits as Jordyn Miller added an insurance run in the sixth inning with an RBI single.

It was a tough ending to an impressive season for the Falcons, including their first Central California Conference championship since 1980.

“This has been such a great bunch of girls,” Santsistevan said. “It’s been unbelievable.”

“On a scale of one to 10, this team was a 70,” Worden said. “It’s hard to say bye to this team. This was really a fun team.”

Vanden 2, Merced 1 in Fairfield – The 13th-seeded Bears (12-13-1) lost in extra innings to the fourth-seeded Vikings in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs. Merced tied the game at 1-1 in the seventh inning when Lily Ramirez tripled and came around to score. Vanden’s Krista Ward won the game with a walk-off single in the eighth inning.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Falcons offense silenced, CCC champs bow out of playoffs."