Centennial shuts down Arbor View to earn state softball berth — PHOTOS
A big performance from Lily Fournier helped punch Centennial’s ticket to the Class 5A state softball tournament.
The senior allowed one run on five hits, and the Bulldogs, the No. 2 seed from the Mountain League, earned a 6-1 home win over Desert League champion Arbor View on Friday in an elimination game at the Class 5A Southern Region tournament.
“A lot of respect for Lily today,” Centennial coach Mike Livreri said. “She put us on her back and was pretty dominant.”
Centennial (18-12) plays at Mountain champion Palo Verde (21-0) for the 5A Southern Region title at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs have to win twice to claim the crown, but both teams advance to next week’s state tournament at UNR.
Arbor View (19-10) had to work hard to reach the matchup with Centennial, defeating Shadow Ridge 5-4 in 10 innings in an elimination game earlier Friday.
After that game took more than three hours to complete, the subsequent matchup with Centennial became a race against the sun. Luckily, the pitchers showed up and kept the game moving, finishing in under two hours.
Through the first three innings, Fournier and Arbor View junior Audrey Melton combined to allow only three hits.
Melton was cruising through the fourth inning, getting two outs on the first two pitches, but a two-out walk to junior Madden Turner sparked a Centennial rally that included three consecutive singles.
With runners on first and second, sophomore Sydnee Smith knocked in the first run of the game with a single down the right-field line. Junior Leeah Ibarra recorded the third single of the inning to give Centennial a 2-0 lead.
Centennial kept the two-out hitting going in the fifth inning, as junior Hailey Smith and Turner each recorded an RBI to extend the lead to 4-1.
“I think it was all two-out hits that scored,” Livreri said. “(Smith) has been getting some big hits recently, and she got us the one to get us on the board — and we needed that.”
In the sixth inning, the Bulldogs didn’t wait until the second out to score, as sophomore Sloane Merrell delivered the only extra-base hit of the day with an RBI double.
Merrell finished 4-for-4 with two runs and the RBI.
The Bulldogs are headed to state regardless but will take their shot at undefeated Palo Verde on Saturday.
“First we have to try to win one, then we’ll think about two,” Livreri said. “They have been a very dominant team this year, and it’s going to take our best game.”