SARATOGA — When it comes playoff time, it doesn’t matter how you score.

Just that you do it.

Third-seeded Saratoga pulled out all the stops to score in its Central Coast Section Division I quarterfinal game against No. 6 Mills, bunting for hits, moving runners over and scoring all three of their runs on sacrifice flies.

That was just enough to beat the Vikings on Saturday morning in Saratoga. In a game that came down to the final out, senior Saratoga pitcher Saira Ramakrishnan induced a foul pop fly, and the Falcons won 3-2 as Mills left Lucy Esquivel on second base to end the game.

“We have a fast team,” Saratoga coach Greg Spirakis said. “So what we try to do is generate chaos on the bases. Get them on, make them run, whatever it takes. We saw there was an opportunity there, and we worked it. It’s the situation. You play the situation.”

Saratoga (20-2) was relentless in its quest to manufacture offense. The Falcons got on the board first in the second inning thanks to two bunts, a swinging bunt and a sacrifice fly.

For good measure, Saratoga even tried a bunt with runners on the corners and two outs during the next at-bat. Mills made the play on that one, but the strategy was clear — the Falcons weren’t going to be afraid to embrace small ball.

“We have fast players, so it’s something that we’re going to try anyway,” Spirakis said. “And then we look at where their defense is situated. We felt that if we put solid bunts down, we’d force them to make a play. To their credit, they got several outs too.”

Saratoga took a more direct approach in the third inning, when freshman Alyssa Tham tripled to right to lead off. Then, after a bunt single put senior Sydney Riera on first but did not advance Tham, the Falcons went back to the old reliable sacrifice fly.

Ramakrishnan served a deep fly to right and successfully scored Tham, giving Saratoga a 2-0 lead.

“We knew it was gonna be a tight game,” Spirakis said, “so you just get a run.”

Mills (21-4-1) got back in the game by giving the home team a taste of its own medicine. Sofia Kwan led off the fourth with a single and advanced to second when Bailey Beauchemin reached on an error.

Sydney Wong laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over, then Morgan Chu grounded out to first, scoring Kwan.

Mills tied the game in the fifth as sophomore captain Jazzy Maske manufactured a run almost entirely by herself. She reached on a bunt single, stole second, then third, and scored on an errant throw by Saratoga’s catcher.

But Saratoga had one more sacrifice fly in reserve. Tham had another big hit, leading off the bottom of the fifth with a double. Riera bunted for another hit, advancing Tham to third.

Once again, Ramakrishnan provided the RBI, this time with a deep fly to center.

Mills threatened late, advancing a runner to third base in the sixth inning and second in the seventh. But each time, Ramakrishnan held the line and got the late outs necessary for the Falcons to escape with a victory.