Centennial bounces back

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 10:42 a.m.

The Centennial Bulldogs didn't have long to lick their wounds after dropping an eight-inning heartbreaker to Wooster at the 4A state softball tournament Wednesday at West Flamingo Park.

Twenty minutes after squandering a two-run lead against the defending champs with two outs in the seventh inning, the Bulldogs were back on the field, this time for a do-or-die game with Silverado.

Though clearly drained emotionally, Centennial found a way to stay alive, rallying for a 4-2 win to remain in the three-day event and send the Skyhawks packing.

"It was probably the hardest thing we had to do all year," Bulldogs coach Cyndi Parus said. "I'm so tremendously proud of the kids today, I can't even put it into words.

"We all were about in tears after the Wooster game, and to be able to turn it around and come back from 2-0 down against Silverado says a lot about our kids."

The Bulldogs (32-5) certainly had reason to be down after their 3-2 loss to the Colts. The locals led 2-0 with two outs in the final frame, only to see Chelsea Crosby belt a double into the left-field corner, scoring two runners to knot the score and send the game into extra innings.

Then, with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Wooster coach Dick Allen decided to roll the dice. As Bulldogs catcher Maggie Livreri returned the ball to pitcher Shannon Crisp, Colts baserunner Jenne Bator broke for the plate, stealing home when Crisp's throw evaded Livreri's glove and found the backstop.

"It was the perfect runner at the perfect time to try it," said Allen, whose club improved to 36-6 this season.

Added Parus, "It was a very gutsy call, and that's probably why he wins state championships. We had that game all along, but I can't take anything away from Wooster. What matters is who puts it together at the end."

Silverado, which did not lose a game in Nevada until Wednesday, fell into a loser's bracket matchup with Centennial after a 3-2 loss to Reno (27-11) earlier in the day. The Skyhawks scored twice in the sixth to pull within a run, but couldn't plate the equalizer against Huskies pitcher Jackie Rinehart in the final inning.

"We just had no intensity today," said Silverado coach Chuck Pope, whose squad ends the year 36-4. "What a wonderful season and what an extremely disappointing finish. We were not the same we've been all year. Why, I don't have an answer."

Centennial's Crisp, a freshman who pitched all eight innings in the loss to Wooster, returned to the mound in the final inning to save her team's win over the Skyhawks. She struck out 12 in the opener, then retired two of the three batters she faced in the nightcap to leave the bases full of Skyhawks.

"We were talking to each other, picking each other up so we'd be ready for the second game," Crisp said. "We were a little down, but we were trying not to let that interfere so we could play our game."

Amy Sauer, who earned the win with 6 1/3 strong innings on the mound, also contributed the game's key hit -- a two-run triple that tied the score in the third inning. Sauer later scored on an error to give the Bulldogs the lead for good.

Tory Healy went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Centennial, with teammates Dani Delgado and Ashley Brush contributing two hits apiece. Emilee Moores, Megan McPherson and Katie Relph each had two hits for the Skyhawks.