Following a three-peat atop Division VI from 2018-22, the Woodland Christian High School varsity softball team began a second straight season in the D5 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs this week in the City of Trees.

After trailing by 3 runs on Tuesday evening at Tyson Miller Memorial Field, the No. 4 Cardinals (18-4) scored 8 unanswered to defeat No. 5 Riverbank (14-10-1) by a final score of 12-7 in the D5 CIF SJS quarterfinals.

“Overall it was a really good game. We did a lot of good teamwork efforts today. We could have done better in every aspect,” recalled senior outfielder Alexis Wiese. “We could have swung a lot earlier and attacked sooner. But when we did, we attacked hard and it was consistent for a majority of the game. It was hot all game, everyone was getting tired. I’m impressed that we stayed as consistent as it was.”

Junior catcher Teagan Hayes led the way for Woodland Christian, tying for the game-high with 3 runs batted in. The UT Martin commit went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, 1 double and 1 walk.

“It started off rough, got a little more rough. Then we figured it out a little bit, pulled it through with our bats. We were still a little rough in the field, but we figured it out to the best of our abilities,” Hayes said. “I attacked first pitch, normally I wait, but today I just did something different. I was just feeling like attacking.

“We knew that we gave them those runs and understand we need to hit the ball and put it in play. We can bunt and hit, just making contact. Make them make plays, they made errors too.”

Senior shortstop Macie Timothy, junior third baseman Adison Huiskens and freshman outfielder Ariana Perez each contributed 2 RBI. Huiskens, who is committed to Idaho State, tied for a game-high with 3 hits, 1 stolen base and 1 run. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Maggie Wurzel also went 3-for-4 and added 3 runs, 1 double and 1 swiped bag. Wiese was 1-for-4 with 2 runs.

“There was definitely a lot of errors, but we pulled through and we came back with our bats. Where we lacked in the field, we compensated with our bats, we made runs and took advantage of their errors getting on with overthrows and bobbled balls,” Wurzel recalled. “I think everybody got adrenaline and kind of mad almost, then used that and put the anger into the ball, drove it farther and harder.”

Wurzel (7-2) had a bounce back start in the circle to earn the victory. After a tough outing against Colusa on May 8, Wurzel tossed 4.0 innings and allowed 7 unearned runs, 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts on 67 pitches. In relief, freshman RHP Chayse Anderson pitched a scoreless 3.0 final frames without giving up hit, with 2 walks and 4 Ks on 55 pitches.

“They both did great, kept their composure really well. There definitely were some tough situations that they battled out of. Chayse is doing great for us coming in on the backside of Maggie,” explained coach Christie Miller. “The scoreboard really isn’t a reflection of Maggie’s performance, the defense let her down a couple of innings. She just continued to battle through it. It was just time to make an adjustment, we threw Chayse in there and she was ready to go.”

The Bruins got on the scoreboard early with a single run in the top of the first. The Cardinals took a 3-run lead with 4 in the third inning. Riverbank immediately responded with 6 runs in the top of the fourth to flip the script and reclaim the advantage at 7-4. Woodland Christian then countered with 5 in the bottom half of the frame and 3 in the fifth.

“We never let up and always give 100% until the game is over. The girls did just that, they proved themselves and continued to battle again,” Miller recalled. “We were there all along, we just needed to get the momentum going and put some rallies together to get the runs on the board.”

The Cardinals will hit the road to play the semifinals at top seed Sutter (25-0) on Thursday at 4 p.m.

“We’re going into it and we have nothing to lose,” Miller foreshadowed. “We’re just going in with the mindset that we’re going to leave it all out on the field, just giving our best effort and control the things that we can control. Taking care of the ball as best we can and just hope for the best outcome. If nothing else, for it to at least be a competitive game.”

Woodland Christian lost 16-0 against the Huskies in the opening round of the 2023 D5 playoffs.

“We’re gonna have to just hit more because I remember the pitcher last year was way faster than any pitcher we’d faced,” Wurzel recalled. “We’re gonna have to be early on it to get contact and even if that means bunting every single time, then just do that, to get on base.”

Unbeaten Sutter has outscored its opponents 322-19 this year.

“We need to keep our heads in the game and go in ready to win. That’s what we didn’t do last year. We went into the game expecting to lose,” Wiese recalled. “We played like absolute garbage and it showed, but this year, we have what it takes to win! We have people set up where they need to be to do their jobs and everyone has been performing their jobs throughout the entire season.”