The Lady Bulldogs advanced to the title game with a 3-2 win over No. 12 Sabino in the opening round back on April 28. Last Friday they shut out No. 13 Chino Valley 5-0 to advance to the semi-final round. Facing top ranked River Valley on Saturday the Bulldogs came up with a huge 12-2 win to earn their trip to the title game. The Lady Bulldogs faced 11th seeded Sahuarita for the 3A State Softball Championship on Tuesday.
In the Chino Valley quarterfinal win the Bulldogs jumped out early scoring twice in the top of the first inning. They added another run in the third, then closed out the scoring with two more runs in the fourth.
That five run cushion was more than enough for Justine Butterfield. The junior pitcher allowed just three hits in the game with 13 strikeouts and walked only two in a commanding performance.
At the plate, Winslow finished with only four hits, but combined with four walks they managed to score their five runs. Harleigh Scott went 1 for 1, drew two walks and scored twice; Jordyn Johnson was 1 for 2; Maycee Cunningham was 1 for 3 and scored once; Butterfield walked once and later scored a run; and Kaleb Clyde went 1 for 3 and scored once.
In their match up with top ranked River Valley the Bulldogs were facing a team with an overall record of 26-5 including a regular season mark of perfection at 17-0.
That record didn’t faze Winslow who took the early lead with one first inning run. The Dust Devils scored once in each of the second and third innings to take a 2-1 edge. That would be all they would get. Winslow caught and passed them with two in the fifth, then widened the margin to 5-2 with two more runs in the sixth. In the top of the seventh the floodgates opened. Winslow put away any doubts about the upset with seven runs making the final score 12-2 to advance to the title game.
Johnson started the game in the circle and did well through the first four innings before being relieved by Butterfield after getting injured in a play at first. Butterfield and the Bulldog defense did the rest. Butterfield shut down River Valley 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
Butterfield also got the job done at the plate with a solo home run over the centerfield fence. Johnson may have left the circle, but she returned to the plate in the seventh sparking the big inning with a double. Then finished the inning with a two run single.
Scott went 4 for 4; Morgan Thomas was 3 for 5; Johnson, 3 for 5; Chloe Wilcox, 2 for 4; and Clyde was 2 for 4.
Winslow now 23-12 on the season returns to the state title game for the first time since winning it all in 2014. The Lady Bulldogs have been in the championship game six times in the past 10 years with two titles and three runner ups to their resume.
