ANTIOCH, CA - Antioch narrowly beat Windsor, 3-2, on Wednesday evening to advance to the quarterfinals in the North Coast Section Division II softball playoffs.
With two outs in the third inning, Antioch's Jazmine Alanis kicked off the scoring for the Panthers (11-13), hitting a double down the first-base line, driving in Bailee Reed, who had reached on an error one batter earlier. Ayanna Sanchez then stepped up to the plate, doubling to left to score Alanis for a 2-0 lead. Priscilla Self then followed with a single to right. scoring Sanchez with what would turn out to be the Panthers' final run of the game.
Windsor cut into the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. With her team trailing and a runner on second, Sydney Hage hit a RBI single towards the right side of the field, allowing Averie Gehrett to cross the plate. Windsor added one more in the sixth, on a sacrifice fly from Gracie Hernandez, but it was not enough for the Jaguars
Sanchez played a big part on the mound, striking out seven batters and only having seven hits against her.
“It felt awesome winning today. We haven’t made the playoffs in years, so this playoff win is really big for us,” said Sanchez “I’m happy with my performance today, I can improve by hitting my spot more, putting more spin on the ball, and being more aggressive at the plate.”
Ashley Golding reached on an error to start the bottom of the seventh for Windsor, giving Maddie Pellman an opportunity behind her. Pellman's attempt to move Golding into scoring position resulted in a double play, however, when Golding was tagged out trying to advance from second to third on the play. Sanchez then notched a strikeout to end the game.
“My heart can’t take much more, the girls came to battle . We came to play, we came to battle” said Antioch coach Nick Wisely. “Defense [was something we did good at]. We had each others back and when you have each others backs you can do anything.”
Antioch moves on to the NCS quarterfinals, playing at Redwood on Saturday, May 27th.
