Atwater softball comes up short in Sac-Joaquin Section playoff loss

Timing can be everything in the playoffs. Just ask the Atwater High School softball team.

The 10th-seeded Falcons (16-7) had no problem racking up nine hits against St. Mary’s right-hander Carley Morfey. Atwater just couldn’t come up with the hits at the right time.

The Falcons went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base in a 5-1 loss to the No. 7 seed Rams in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs Wednesday night at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

“We had runners in scoring position six of the seven innings,” said Atwater coach Robert Santistevan, whose team was eliminated by St. Mary’s for the second consecutive year. “We were probably two hits from putting them away. They were able to drop a couple hits in against us. We just couldn’t string together a couple hits.”

The Falcons’ run came in the top of the first as Eileen Martinez led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second. Brittany Massa then delivered a single to right field to plate Martinez and give Atwater the early lead.

It didn’t last long because St. Mary’s (15-8) answered with two runs in the bottom of the first. A walk and a hit batter came back to bite Atwater ace Cheyenne Mahy. Both runners advanced into scoring position after a wild pitch, and Hannah Russell followed with a two-out, bloop single that scored both.

Mahy issued four free passes on two walks and two hit batters, and three scored.

“Absolutely those hurt,” Santistevan said. “Our run was a walk that came around to score. In the playoffs, when you give someone a free base, it usually costs you.”

The Falcons threatened every inning:

▪ Megan Escobar led off the second with a double, and Katie Bettis reached on an error to give the Falcons runners on the corners with no outs. However, Morfey struck out the next three hitters.

▪ Massa doubled in the third but was stranded.

▪ Bettis and Marcy Vargas singled in the fourth but were left on base.

▪ The Falcons left two more runners on base in the fifth and seventh.

“We were hitting; we just weren’t hitting at the right time,” Massa said.

Mahy struck out 12, but the Rams broke open the game with another bloop, run-scoring single by Vanessa Tirado in the fifth. Morfey followed with an RBI double to extend the lead to 4-1.

Alex Preston and Abigail Parises hit back-to-back doubles in the sixth to stretch the Rams’ lead to 5-1.

The loss marked the end of Massa’s prep career. For the first time since she arrived at Atwater High, she can catch her breath after playing four years of varsity volleyball, three seasons of varsity basketball and four years of varsity softball.

Massa went out with a bang with three hits and a walk in her final game.

“It didn’t really hit me until this season, this spring,” Massa said. “It was a little emotional on senior night. I think I realized this is my last home game. I’ve played with (Mahy) for the past three years. It’s tough now that it’s ending.

“ ... I’m just going to enjoy the next few days and get ready for (graduation) night.”

It was the end of another successful season for the Falcons, who brought a nine-game winning streak into the postseason.

“From the very first day we worked hard, the girls worked hard,” Santistevan said. “They worked hard on offense and worked on defense. They came together, and I’m proud of them.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Atwater softball comes up short in Sac-Joaquin Section playoff loss."