Falcons outlast Benicia in 11th
SACRAMENTO — Falcons coach Karen Anderson looked at her squad of tired but triumphant players Friday night and relayed a message fit for a game that took 11 innings and three hours to complete.
"Welcome to the playoffs," she said.
The River Valley High softball team has arrived. Four years after going 6-22, these 12 girls did something the football, baseball and basketball teams haven't.
They won a postseason game, a 6-5 victory over Benicia on Friday that sent the players diving into their handbags to grab cell phones and text the good news: They're moving on.
"It's amazing going from my freshman year where we got 10-run ruled every game to being here," senior Courtney Chacon said. "It is such an achievement for our team and our school."
That vault into unprecedented territory sure didn't come easy -- especially for Falcons pitcher Courtney Smith. The junior battled through all 11 innings, grunting her way to 15 strikeouts and escaping situations that screamed "walk-off-loss."
Bottom of the seventh, runner on third, one out — Smith responds by inducing a lazy pop-up to second and a grounder to wiggle out of the jam.
"She doesn't get rattled, she doesn't let things get to her," Anderson said. "She concentrates on that battle and that moment."
Bottom of the 11th, runner on third, two outs — Smith had a quick meeting with Chacon in the circle before throwing the first pitch to Heather Windmiller.
The senior catcher's advice: "Don't throw anything crazy or wild. Just hit (my glove) and everything will be OK."
A fly-out to right field followed and the Falcons celebrated in the infield. They only had six hits, but it was enough to beat last season's section runner-up and move into the second round, which begins at 1 p.m. today at the Sacramento Softball Complex.
This was the type of day Anderson envisioned during the school's first season in 2006. She looks back on her high school playoff days with fond memories and wanted her girls to experience those same emotions.
Fun? Stressfulness? Amazement?
"All of them," she said.
It was a crash course in playoff atmosphere for the Falcons, and they responded by making history.
"The program is grown up now," Anderson said.
