Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

It is hard to think of a worse scenario for a softball team in a winner-take-all play-in (really a playoff team).

• You trail 4-0 before even coming to bat.
• Your starter had to be pulled from the game.
• Your relief pitcher spend nearly all of the season hurling for the junior varsity.

Facing those facts, #13 Willow Canyon stayed confident in its bats and ability to battle. Sophomore pitcher Larissa Helman threw the next 6 1/3 innings and allowed #20 Marana three runs.

That was enough for the Wildcats bats, which pounded out nine hits and excelled in situational hitting. Willow Canyon (17-11-1) came back for the 8-7 win, the second playoff victory in program history.

"Larissa was a JV pitcher we brought up because we were going to need a little depth in our bullpen. (Marana) is a very good team and they match up very well with us," Willow Canyon coach Donnie Tizzano said. "Their pitchers didn't strike out a lot of kids but they also didn't walk a lot of kids, which feeds into us because we're a very offensive-minded club. When we made the pitching change I told the girls, '10 is not going to win this game. So 4 is no big deal, we've got to get to 10.' I knew we wouldn't quit. Shadow had us down the boatload and we didn't quit."

League rival Liberty (ranked #23) upset #10 Laveen Betty Fairfax, so Willow Canyon will jump to #12 for the main 5A softball bracket. If the final regular seasons hold, that means a short trip south to face rival Shadow Ridge.

That would be one of the few ways to produce more emotion than Wednesday's game. The Wildcats won an elimination game in 2008 but had lost their opening elimination game in each of the past five seasons.

"That's the first first-round win we've had in school history," Tizzano said. "I think we came out a little bit nervous but by that third inning we realized this is just a softball game like all the others we've played.

A sixth straight opening loss was staring them in the face. The young Marana (16-13) lineup came outs swinging after a walk and error got two Tigers on.

Sophomore Laneya Wright's double drove in both and Wright took third on an ill-advised throw to the plate. senior Kelsey Hawkins' ground ball out scored Wright. and freshman Arianna Garcia capped the four-run inning with a solo home run to left field.

Helman entered in relief of fellow sophomore Rachel Broussard and kept her approach simple.

"After the first couple innings we let every error and nerve go," Helman said. "I threw a lot of outside fastballs and the ump did not like to call them. But I kept throwing them. They would get it with the end of the bat and our defense kept getting their ground balls.."

Suring the bottom of the second, the Wildcats tied the contest and chased Tigers freshman Leila Rouhani from the circle. Junior Andraya Rhinehart led off with a single and senior MacKenzie Federico walked.

Willow Canyon's Brooke Windahl hits a two-run double against Marana on Wednesday at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]Junior Carrigan Foster hit an RBI single and senior followed with a two-run double. With two outs, junior Mashayla Beltran drove in the fourth run.

Marana struck back immediately, loading the bases with no outs in the third. Freshman Kyana Vieux lifted a fly ball to left and there was some doubt about whether the Wildcats could catch it.

They did and the Marana run originally counted. But Willow Canyon protested the call, saying the runner on third left before the ball was caught. The umpire agreed and called the runner at third out for the double play.

"I think we were fortunate that the ball was hit where it was. The entire dugout had a great look at it. We knew we were going to challenge that play. We just needed them to call time out," Tizzano said.

The Tigers did not go into the funk after the call, quickly striking for three runs, on a bloop single by freshman Tatum Caldwell and infield singles by freshman Olivia Bailes and junior Destiny Vasquez.

Anspach and Beltran led off the bottom of the fifth with infield single. Sophomore Mo Foster stepped in, noticed the Tigers were leaving the right field power alley open and tweaked her stance a bit.

She smacked a triple to that spot, plating both teammates. With one out, Rhinehart drove her in to tie the game at 7.

"Their defense would adjust to the batter and I noticed they were shifting. So I hit to the right side. It was a big relief knowing we were back in the game," Mo Foster said.

The home team did not lead until the bottom of the sixth. Senior Reesie Morales got to second on a throwing error and senior Meera Gardner came in as a pinch runner.

Freshman Hannah Bowers bunted her over and Rhinehart brought her in on a well placed ground ball out.

Meanwhile, Helman got stronger as the game went on, finishing Marana with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. It was the third time in the final four frames that she sent the Tigers down in order.

"I find it amazing and I'm still shocked myself. It's my first year helping with varsity and I had a good team behind me," Helman said. "The seniors have made a legacy and in the coach's first year back, we have already made a change."

Tizzano coached the Wildcats for five years and started the playoff streak in 2013. He left for a Minnesota junior college following the 2014 season and Willow Canyon had three separate coaches in the next three seasons.

He returned to Arizona last year but coached at Millennium because the Willow Canyon job did not open until just before the season started.

The coach said this win is for seniors Windahl, Morales, Gardner, MacKenzie Federico, Emily Cowen and Jamie Maddox. They had to go through all the upheaval and he was happy to coach them four years later.

"I knew them when they were in eighth grade. To have one year with them and we have a historic win for our program ... we have seniors that sat the bench this entire game and never complained. They were leading the cheers. They deserved it. They worked hard for four years and this is the by-product," Tizzano said.

Willow Canyon's Andrya Rhinehart tags out Marana's Kyana Vieux on a stolen base attempt on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]