Mark Carlisle

West Valley Preps

Centennial stayed alive in the 5A playoffs by nursing a one-run lead behind the pitching of junior Sydnie Sahhar Thursda, en route to a 2-1 victory over the defending champion Vail Cienega at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix.

The No. 6 Coyotes’ (25-9-1, 8-1) victory sets up a rematch Friday at the same fields with the winner heading to the state championship and the loser going home. Had No. 3 Cienega (27-6, 8-2) won Thursday, Centennial would have been eliminated and the Bobcats would have sealed a return trip to the 5A championship game.

Sahhar limited the Bobcats to three hits and two walks in a complete game performance where she struck out seven.

“Honestly, I was just relaxed, trying to trust God, focus on playing for each other,” Sahhar said. “I was just feeling good.”

After facing five batters in the second and facing six more in the third, where she allowed her lone earned run, Sahhar switched into shut-down mode, retiring the last 13 Bobcat batters in order to protect the one-run Coyote lead.

“Our pitching has just been great, Sydnie’s come back and done a great job,” Centennial coach Randy Kaye said about Sahhar, who has become the team’s ace after missing her sophomore season with a back injury.

The Coyotes strung together some situational hitting to put two runs on the board in the second. The bottom of the order came through when senior Emily White, the seven-hitter, produced an RBI on a fielder’s choice and junior Makenzie Celeya, the nine-hitter, drove in the second run with a single to left, the only hit in the inning.

“That’s what we seem to be doing is getting the timely hit, and it’s just been good for us,” Kaye said.

Both runs were unearned because of a Cienega error earlier in the inning on a sacrifice bunt attempt that instead put two on with no outs for the Coyotes.

Because of that, Bobcat sophomore pitcher Mariah Lopez, despite the loss, had an impressive stat line. She struck out six over six innings allowing three hits and three walks. Her two runs were unearned.

With runners on second and third, White bounced a high grounder to Lopez on the mound who threw home to try to catch the runner barreling in from third. But the throw pulled the catcher off the plate and senior Caitlyn Swisher scored the game’s first run.

After Celeya’s single brought home the second run, the Coyotes could have added more but stranded three runners.

Centennial squandered another chance for an insurance run when they could not drive in senior Natalie Del Ponte after she hit a one-out triple to right in the fifth.

“We’re going to have to hit better,” Kaye said looking forward to Friday’s rematch. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to hold them to one run tomorrow. That’s a really, really good team.”

Cienega’s lone run came an inning after Centennial’s two-run second on a double from senior Abby Doughty, who had two of the Bobcats’ three hits. The Bobcats might have left more on the table in the third, as well, as Doughty was thrown out at third for the second out trying to stretch her double into a triple.

Cienega coach Eric Tathum said he waived Doughty on to third on the play.

“I brought her. She’s my speed. She’s my rabbit. We take chances, and we have the motto ‘never retreat.’ And we thought we could get there, and they just made a good play,” he said.

The assist came from left fielder Jaydin Gonzalez. Though Gonzalez, as Centennial’s flex, did not bat, she fielded her position to perfection behind Sahhar. In addition to gunning down Doughty at third, Gonzalez made a sliding, snow-cone catch on a shallow line drive and an over-the-shoulder catch at the wall in left.

“It could have been three bags on any one of those hits,” Kaye said.

After the game, both coaches said they’d yet to decide who would be in the circle Friday.

“I feel confident with all three of them,” Kaye said of Sahhar, senior Alanna Moran and freshman Meghan Golden, who have done the bulk of the team’s pitching this year. “It’s really hard to take the ball out of Sydnie’s hand right now. She’s feeling it, and I think she’s got something to prove. She really missed last year, and I think she’s just — she’s living for this moment.”

Sahhar, who threw 99 pitches in her complete game Thursday, wasn’t sure how many innings she’d have in her on no day’s rest but was up for the challenge.

“I don’t know, but I’ll be ready for whatever I have to do,” she said.

Friday will be the third time the teams have faced off in the double-elimination playoffs, with Cienega topping Centennial 7-1 in the first round.

“I think we’re going to have to play better and hit better, but I like our chances,” Kaye said. "(We’ve) now got all the momentum, so I just want to see ‘em come out and play hard and leave it all on the field.”

Centennial softball players celebrate the Coyotes 2-1 victory over Vail Cienega in a 5A playoff game at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix. {Courtesy STacie Sahhar/For West Valley Preps>