Playoff softball is not the time for sickness and injuries. Those were the cards Scottsdale Christian was dealt on Friday in the 2A softball semifinals at Rose Mofford Sports Complex.
The obstacles were too much to overcome for the Eagles, who were beaten 2-0 by Willcox.
The Cowgirls will meet Phoenix Northwest Community Christian for the 2A championship tonight.
It is a NWCC team that Scottsdale Christian beat during the regular season.
Scottsdale Christian catcher Alex Petznick, the Eagles’ only catcher, played with a severe fever.
“We’ve had a lot of illness,” coach Mark Hickman said.
Scottsdale Christian (28-6) wasn’t able to generate a lot of offense against Willcox pitcher Britany Hardine.
She allowed just five Eagle hits and struck out 10 batters.
Her counterpart, Heidi Purtzer, wasn’t bad either.
She allowed only two hits and struck out six.
The Eagles downfall came in the very first inning when two costly errors led to two Willcox runs.
Hardine reached on an error and later scored. So did Krissy Flores.
Catcher Sam Miller drove in one run with a single.
“We did very well this season,” Hickman said. “We were very steady.”
