AURORA | From the time they met in the parking lot of the Aurora Sports Park Saturday morning prior to the Class 5A Region 3 tournament, the Eaglecrest softball team felt it was going to be their day.
The Raptors’ inkling was confirmed once they took the field, as they outscored their two opponents 21-1 and cruised to the program’s fifth consecutive trip to the 5A state tournament, set for Oct. 21-23 at the same venue.
Junior Braelyne Crenshaw threw a complete game shutout and contributed a two-run single early as Eaglecrest built a 5-0 lead over 12th-seeded Ralston Valley and invoked the 10-run mercy rule in the sixth inning with a five-spot for a 10-0 victory. Coach Yvette Hendrian’s Raptors (17-4) handled No. 28 Chatfield 11-1 in their regional opener.
Against a Ralston Valley team that edged past No. 21 Mountain Vista 7-6 in its first round, Eaglecrest got up early and added to the lead gradually before its game-ending rally.
Freshman pinch hitter Kristin Ingram delivered a two-run single in the five-run burst, which also included sophomore Brandee Morris’ second RBI single and sophomore Rachel Sabourin’s run-scoring double before a wild pitch brought home the game-ending run.
Ralston Valley bounced back from the loss to Eaglecrest to edge 21st-seeded Mountain Vista to grab the other 5A state tournament berth from Region 3.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2016 CLASS 5A REGION 3 SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
Oct. 15 at Aurora Sports Park
Game 1: NO. 5 EAGLECREST 11, No. 28 Chatfield 1; Game 2: No. 12 Ralston Valley 7, No. 21 Mountain Vista 6; Game 3: NO. 5 EAGLECREST 10, No. 12 Ralston Valley 0 (EAGLECREST qualifies for 5A state tournament); Game 4: No. 21 Mountain Vista 11, No. 28 Chatfield 1; Game 5: No. 12 Ralston Valley 7, No. 21 Mountain Vista 6 (Ralston Valley qualifies for 5A state tournament)
