AURORA | There are hot bats and then there were the scorching sticks carried by the Fossil Ridge softball team Saturday.
Eaglecrest ran into the sweet-swinging SaberCats in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state softball tournament at the Aurora Sports Park and saw them pound out 17 hits, including five home runs — four of them three-run shots — in just four at-bats in a 19-4 victory.
Third-seeded Fossil Ridge (22-1) put on a hitting clinic in its first two games with 29 total runs and 27 hits on its way to Sunday’s semifinals against No. 7 Legend, while sending the Centennial League champion and sixth-seeded Raptors to defeat in the quarterfinal round for the second straight season.
Coach Yvette Hendrian’s Eaglecrest team finished the season 20-3 overall.
The loss put Aurora teams completely out of the tournament, as Grandview lost 13-8 to Legend in its first round contest.
The bottom of the first inning started well for Raptors sophomore starter Sarah Bushman, as third baseman Mikayla Faulkner turned a 5-3 double play that appeared to squash a rally that started with Fossil Ridge leadoff hitter Alysia Schultz reaching on an infield single.
The wheels started to come after that, however, as Jenna Jordan cranked a two-run shot over the center field fence and after two more hits, Courtney Medina lifted a three-run blast to right center. Hendrian called on her other sophomore pitching standout, Alexa Romero, who promptly struck out the first hitter she faced to end the inning.
It was only a temporary stop, however. The first three batters reached against Romero in the bottom of the second, then all three came in on Jordan’s bases-clearing double. In the third, Fossil Ridge scored again on a throwing error, then increased its lead to 12-0 on Haley Donaldson’s three-run homer.
Eaglecrest countered with a four-run rally in the top of the fourth inning, as Faulkner double in a pair of runs and Taylor Menard and Chelsea Gorman had back-to-back RBI singles to make it 12-4.
It showed signs of life, but the Raptors wouldn’t get to bat again thanks to a 7-run bottom of the fourth inning by Fossil Ridge that invoked the 15-run mercy rule. Romero surrendered a three-run shot to No. 8 hitter Malori Pojar and had another runner reach before Hendrian brought back Bushman, who saw the game come to a close when Donaldson dropped the bat head and golfed a three-run homer down the left field line.
While the Raptors didn’t have a chance to make a comeback against Fossil Ridge, they needed one to get into that game.
In its opener, Eaglecrest held a 2-0 lead going to the seventh inning against Castle View, only to watch Morgan Duncan hit a grand slam to put the Sabercats up 4-2 in dramatic fashion.
The Raptors showed their traditional cool, as Menard and Gorman reached to start the inning, Tayler Mashburn singled in a run and Rayle Glover won it with a two-run single down the right field line.
(3) FOSSIL RIDGE 19, (6) EAGLECREST 4 (4 inn.)
Score by innings (r-h-e):
Eaglecrest 000 4 — 4 5 3
Fossil Ridge 534 7 — 19 17 0
EAGLECREST (ab-r-h-rbi)
Lauren Buckley cf 2-0-0-0, Tayler Mashburn rf 2-1-1-0, Rayle Glover ss 2-1-1-0, Brooke Morris 1b 1-0-0-0, Alexa Romero dp-p 2-0-0-0, Michenzie Pace c 1-0-0-0, Mikayla Faulkner 3b 2-1-1-2, Erin Keefe 3b 0-0-0-0, Taylor Menard 2b 2-0-1-1, Chelsea Gorman lf 2-0-1-1. Totals 16-5-4-4. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Sarah Bushman (L, 2/3-8-8-8-1-0), Alexa Romero (2 1/3-9-11-11-1-1).
FOSSIL RIDGE (ab-r-h-rbi)
Alysia Schultz of 4-3-4-0, Berkley Calapp 3b 2-4-1-0, Haley Donaldson ss 4-2-2-6, Jenna Jordan c 3-1-2-5, Haleigh Waterland 1b 2-1-1-0, Murphy McRoberts p 3-2-2-0, Courtney Medina of 3-2-2-3, Malori Pojar 3-1-1-3, Lauren Groff of 3-3-2-0. Totals 27-17-19-17. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Murphy McRoberts (W, 4-5-4-4-2-0).
2B — Eaglecrest: Mikayla Faulkner; Fossil Ridge: Lauren Groff 2, Murphy McRoberts 2, Jenna Jordan; HR — Fossil Ridge: Haley Donaldson 2 (2 on in 3rd, 2 on in 4th), Jenna Jordan (1 on in 1st), Courtney Medina (2 on in 1st), Malori Pojar (2 on in 4th).
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel.
