Greenway ends Cactus softball's rebound season in Phoenix

By Richard Smith
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It was the first postseason game for any player in the Cobras' black and Columbia blue jerseys.

A season of growth and lessons ended for Cactus softball ended with one last  thing to learn - in the playoffs, your first chance to score may be your best chance.

No. 22 seed Cactus loaded the bases in the top of the first at No. 11 Greenway Wednesday night, but could not push one across. Senior Taylor Borup made the Cobras pay, smashing two home runs in the Demons' 6-1 win.

"Experience plays a lot of a role. When we were warming up today, we seemed very stressed. I told them they should be very proud of what they did this season because nobody thought they could do it," Cactus Coach Alex Morgan said. "I also told them to keep the sour taste in their mouth, so they know what they're capable of nest season."

After leaving two Cobras stranded, the home team turned to senior slugger Borup. She hit a solo shot well over the wall in right center field for a 1-0 Greenway lead.

Junior pitcher Ciara Anthony settled down from there, leaving two Demons in scoring position in the first. She followed up with three scoreless innings despite Borup's leadoff double off the base of the wall in right center.

"Ciara wants the ball. She wants to be up. She puts a lot of pressure on herself, putting the team on her back," Morgan said. "She's a very special player and I want her to get the flowers she deserves."

The contest pivoted in the fifth. Rhyan Enos got on base thanks to an error and Anthony singled. With two runners on and two outs, junior pitcher Madison Bailey induced a ground ball to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Junior Bella Morris singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Borup then hit another towering blast, this one of the two-run variety for a 3-0 lead.

Freshman Daniela Johnson reached on an error and drove in the Demons' fourth run.

"After Kaitlyn Terry left (i 2023) people didn't think we would compete and we are," Greenway Coach Janna Frandrup said. "We're doing fine this year and were ranked #1 for a bit. The girls remember how it felt to be in that state championship and they're trying to get back to that."

Greenway (17-9-1) tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth against the Cobras reliever, freshman Riley Kilgore.

The visitors ended the shutout in the seventh, when Anthony drove in Enos.

The Demons continued a week of stability after three losses in the previous week dropped their ranking all the way from No. 1 to No. 11. That early ranking has Greenway believing it can win on the road in Saturday's first round elimination game and contend for a title.

"We struggled the last week or so. Today it was a new season," Frandrup said. "They flushed it. They came out in the first few inning and weren't producing runs. But they don't ever give up. In the end we were moving runners over and scoring them. We can make it to state if we're on our A game."

In Morgan's second year, Cactus (12-10) returned to respectability following three straight losing seasons. Her second year gave the program some stability after two one-and-done coaches in 2022 and 2023.

Senior Emily Vasquez stuck with the program through the chaos and losing records, and finished her Cactus career starting her only postseason game.

"I'm very happy for her. Last year she wasn't able to play much because she got injured. But this year she was really able to jump into a role and play great defense for us. She wanted to get here," Morgan said. "She plugged away and is part of the reason we got to this point."

Anthony has been the catalyst of the turnaround, and finished her junior season with a .589 average, 40 RBI and four homers, plus a 1.41 ERA and  6-4.

Her loyalty, and that of fellow junior Charley Enos (.433, 21 RBI), is starting to be rewarded as talented young players come in.

Vasquez was the only senior starter Monday. 

"This season was a testament to our leadesrs and how much the girls wanted to be part of something special," Morgan said. "I don't have to have Ciara in one of the top two spots anymore. She can hit people in. She knew after her freshman year it would be tough, but that's the kind of kid she is."

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.