Centennial softball struggled in its first meeting of the season against Long Reach, tying a season-low with one run. The Eagles went into Monday’s rematch focused on putting that effort in the rearview mirror.
They responded in a big way, orchestrating one of their best offensive performances of the season with 16 hits. Ten of those hits came in a 10-run sixth inning where the Eagles flipped a three-run deficit into a seven-run lead. That offensive eruption turned the tide as Centennial closed out a 15-9 come-from-behind win over the Lightning.
“That’s just the way we roll,” Centennial coach Eddie Fowler said. “I know we went on a bad stretch three for three games where we didn’t hit. Over the last four games, we’re starting to hit. I knew they were going to come, it was just a question of when. The mentality was let’s just keep chipping away. We don’t need all our runs in one inning. I knew if we chipped away, we would be OK. They pick each other up and it’s a great bunch of girls.”
There was a tangible energy shift entering the sixth. The Eagles (8-4, 4-1 Sierra Division) had every player up on the fence cheering on their teammate as senior Julia Braganca started the rally with a leadoff single. Two batters later, Maddie Reese ripped a triple, the first of four straight extra-base hits — Layla Schroyer, Audray Zheng and Sarah Middleton followed, each ripping RBI doubles.
“It’s so contagious, I love it,” Schroyer said. “When everyone’s up and cheering, it’s the best. You can just feel it.”
Centennial’s momentum grew from there as the bottom of the lineup kept the hit parade moving. Lauren Jensen and Isabella Leider each singled, which turned the lineup back to Braganca, one of the team’s senior captains. She lined a two-RBI single up the middle, her third hit of the afternoon, as the excitement in the Eagles’ dugout was deafening.
“We’ve been wanting to get this win for a long time,” Braganca said. “Our last game, we weren’t very proud of. The energy in that game wasn’t good and we had a lot of errors. We came in today with a positive mindset and with a winning mindset and it worked out for us.”
While Centennial’s bats awoke late, Long Reach started out of the gates quickly. The Lightning scored seven runs in the first three innings and capitalized on a couple of Centennial errors. Janelle Wilson and Abby Richardson led that effort from the top and bottom of the lineup, respectively, as the Lightning consistently made contact and put the ball in play. Richardson finished with a team-high four hits, utilizing her speed to beat out a pair of bunts.
After some early struggles, Centennial’s defense shored things up in the final four innings. Braganca battled back from some early miscues and made some key plays at shortstop on hard contact.
“It’s really tough, especially because I think that they get in their heads and blame themselves,” Long Reach coach Heather Clausen said as her team dropped to 6-6. “They internally take on that, and then we’re not communicating to pick each other up. It definitely gets hard when you can see the frustration. You could see how hard they’re all working, but then they just all fell apart in different ways.”
Centennial’s win marked the start of a busy four-game week, including two more division games against Wilde Lake and River Hill. Now in the latter portion of the season, the Eagles’ bats are coming around at just the right time. With its timely hitting, Centennial also showcased its resilience, which is a testament to the group’s collective growth.
The Eagles’ core has been together for three years on varsity now with continual progression during that time. Monday afternoon’s victory was the latest example of that as the Eagles move closer toward the postseason and aim to make their mark in Class 2A West Region II.
C- 2 1 0 1 1 10 0 – 15
LR- 3 2 2 0 1 0 1- 9
WP: Lauren Jensen; LP: Riley Slonac
2B: C: Layla Schroyer, Audray Zheng, Sarah Middleton; LR: Abby Richardson (2), Janelle Wilson, Makenzie Daffan; 3B: C: Maddie Reese.
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