Saratoga takes small ball to the next level, wins early morning CCS game over Mills with copious bunts, 3 sac flies

SARATOGA When it comes playoff time it doesn t matter how you number Just that you do it After all they typically don t ask how a organization gets its runs They just ask how a great number of they got No Saratoga softball pulled out all the stops to sum in the opening round of its Central Coast Section Division I quarterfinal encounter against No Mills bunting for hits moving runners over and scoring all three of their runs on sacrifice flies And that was just enough to beat the Vikings on Saturday morning in Saratoga In a encounter that came down to the final out senior Saratoga pitcher Saira Ramakrishnan induced a foul pop fly and the Falcons won - as Mills left Lucy Esquivel on second base to end the event Saratoga s Jemma Tsang catches a pop fly the last out of the meeting against Mills in the seventh inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group We have a fast squad Saratoga coach Greg Spirakis mentioned 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 - 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 sac 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 noted 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 If you think about it you play the odds if it works half the time it s a win That s what we were after We don t expect to be perfect on those every time We just need to be good enough Saratoga s Jemma Tsang bunts the ball against Mills in the second inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Saratoga took a more direct approach in the third inning as 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 sac fly Ramakrishnan served a deep popup to right and successfully scored Tham giving Saratoga a - lead We knew it was gonna be a tight meeting Spirakis announced so you just get a run Mills - - got back in the challenge by giving the home unit 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 Kalia Woo pitches against Saratoga in the first inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Mills tied the match 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 sac fly in reserve Tham had another big hit leading off the bottom of the fifth with a double Then 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 just enough and got the late outs necessary for the Falcons to escape with a triumph Saratoga s Saira Ramakrishnan pitches against Mills in the fourth inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group I had this feeling that we were gonna have to really put in a fight Mills coach Michelle Beauchemin mentioned It was going to be a challenge because it s been kind of a crazy week for us But at the same time I didn t expect it to be so close Both teams have been dealing with scheduling conflicts typical of the late school year The competition s start time was moved up to a m to allow four Saratoga starters more time at a weekend school Media Arts capstone retreat in Monterey that started on Friday and runs through Saturday So Ramakrishnan Riera Dahlia Murphy and Maggie Huseby loaded up at a m and headed back to Saratoga in time to play the competition then returned to Monterey right away afterward They were pretty excited we won definitely since they put all the time in Spirakis noted Saratoga celebrates after winning against Mills during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Mills agreed to move the event up from a m and beyond common courtesy it may have had something to do with their understanding of what Saratoga was dealing with The Vikings had players in and out due to senior recognition and award ceremonies and were unable to hold a full practice until Thursday This is the first time every single person has been here all week Beauchemin noted Those are the headaches you play for this time of year and it will be Saratoga that gets the privilege of continuing to deal with them The Falcons will advance to face No Gilroy next week in the CCS Division I semifinals Date and time for the battle have not yet been published by the CCS Saratoga celebrates after winning against Mills during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Saratoga s Alaina Retamoso fields a ground ball against Mills in the third inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Saratoga s Anaya Shah hits the ball against Mills in the second inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Saratoga s Alyssa Tham stands on second base after hitting a double during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group A fly ball hit by Saratoga s Alyssa Tham goes over the outfielder s head for a double in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Saratoga s Saira Ramakrishnan throws to first base against Mills in the second inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Saratoga s Jemma Tsang catches a line drive against Mills in the third inning during the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs at Saratoga High School in Saratoga Calif on Saturday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group