Mark Carlisle

West Valley Preps

Ironwood softball's offense broke out after trailing 3-2 late in Wednesday’s play-in game, and the Eagles defeated Phoenix Sunnyslope 13-3 in six innings to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

The Eagles await their opponent for the first round of the 5A playoffs, which will start Saturday. After another Peoria Unified district school, #23 Liberty, upset #10 Laveen Betty Fairfax Wednesday, Ironwood will move up to #10 in the 5A bracket unveiled Thursday.

Wednesday’s game at #11 Ironwood turned from a nail-biter to a blowout in no time when Ironwood strung together six of its eight hits in the final two innings along with four errors from the Vikings defense to score 11 runs between the fifth and the sixth.

In one inning, the Eagles went from needing a run to keep their season alive to invoking the 10-run mercy rule to end the game early.

Ironwood head coach Jami Beebe said the energy dipped in the dugout when the team was down but picked up as base runners mounted in the fifth.

“It was a little quiet at first but then when they started rallying, they started realizing, like, ‘Oh, we have a chance to win this game.’ And then we finally came through with the win. So, it took them a little bit to get up to that stamina, but they finally did it,” Beebe said.

Ironwood ace junior Sara Norton was her usual lights-out self for all but the third inning, where #22 Sunnyslope scored all three of its runs. Norton struck out 15 in six innings. Only two of the runs allowed were earned, coming on two hits and one walk.

“She did amazing,” said Ironwood assistant coach Stephanie Huckens, who took the helm for several weeks as Beebe was on maternity leave. “She did her job like she’s done all season. She’s why we’re here.”

Norton has now fanned 224 batters this season with a rate of more than two strikeouts per inning.

She had the play of the day at the plate as well Wednesday, driving in two on a triple into the right-field corner to break a 3-3 tie. She also scored three runs.

On the mound, Norton was red hot coming into what would be a rocky third inning — she’d struck out the first seven batters she faced. Sunnyslope junior Jessie Leland broke the streak by beating out a slow-rolling grounder to second for a hit.

A sacrifice bunt put Leland in scoring position, but also put Norton an out away from escaping the inning. However, she walked the next batter and junior Jessica Rusconi poked a bloop single over the outreached glove of the Ironwood shortstop to bring home both runners to give Sunnyslope the lead.

Rusconi scored a batter later on a throwing error to extend the lead to 3-1, but Norton struck out the last batter to end the rally.

Ironwood pitcher Sara Norton delivers a pitch against Sunnyslope during the second inning of their girl's 5A state playoff-in game on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. [Ralph Freso/For West Valley Preps][/caption]Norton said the heat was fatiguing her a little during a day where temperatures pushed triple digits, “but that’s something everybody’s got to work with,” she said.

She was in the heat much longer that inning, throwing 29 pitches. She threw no more than 15 in any other inning.

Norton settled right back in after that inning, striking out five more batters in a row. The only base runner she allowed in any other inning reached on an error.

Ironwood’s six-run fifth started with small ball, when senior Maia Sharkey laid down a drag bunt for a hit. Sunnyslope junior pitcher Katie Desmond fielded a potential double-play ball from the next batter, but her throw to second sailed into the outfield.

A walk loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly tied the game before Norton’s triple regained the lead for Ironwood.

Six of the 11 runs scored in the final two innings were unearned for Desmond and sophomore Elena Videla, who replaced Desmond after the triple.

“We had a chance to win. And then we broke down defensively, so they put a couple balls in play and that was it,” said Sunnyslope head coach Mike Fenton.

Wednesday was an improvement from the other two times Sunnyslope faced Norton. The Vikings were shut out both times. Fenton said the defense needed to be sharp when facing a pitcher as good as Norton, but it wasn’t.

“We snuck a couple balls through and we’re up 3-1, so we had to play defense. You know, we were going to win with defense. It’s not like we were going to put 20 runs up,” he said.

In what turned into a high-octane game for Ironwood, senior Bibiana Acosta was constantly on base, even during the dry innings. The senior had a single and walked three times, scoring three runs.

“I feel like everyone just being patient, and I feel like everyone went off of each other’s momentum, so it helped us get back in it. And then, obviously Sara striking out people helped too,” said Acosta, who catches Norton.

Junior Madison Gomez doubled Acosta home in the first for the game’s first run and another RBI on the sac fly in the fifth. Seniors Alexa Spitz and Isabele Joslin each had two-RBI hits in the sixth. Joslin’s double ended the game.

Beebe hopes her team won’t have to rely on late-inning heroics during the playoffs.

“We need to start off strong from the very first pitch of the game,” she said. “We have the tendency to kind of start off low and then trying to build it up toward the end of the game, but we need to start off strong and stay that consistency throughout.”

Ironwood's Caitlinn Redwood (1) is congratulated by teammate Alexa Spitz after scoring against Sunnyslope during the sixth inning of their girl's 5A state playoff-in game on Wednesday, April 25. (Ralph Freso/For West Valley Preps)