Mustangs roll after Harmon hits stride

Shadow Ridge's Mandy Harmon has certainly figured out how to finish games.

Harmon retired 20 of the last 21 batters she faced to lead the Bulldogs to a 5-3 victory over Centennial for the Sunset Regional championship at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park on Friday.

Harmon finished with eight strikeouts while leading Shadow Ridge (26-5) to a berth in next week's state tournament. Harmon retired 20 of the final 23 batters in a 5-4 win over Sierra Vista on Thursday.

Centennial (30-6) faces Sunrise runner-up Foothill (21-16) at 3 p.m. on Monday at Silverado with the winner getting the final berth at state.

Harmon started slowly, with the Bulldogs scoring three runs on three hits in the first inning. Juelaine Noa had a two-run single and Katie Lee singled home the other run for Centennial.

But Harmon found her rhythm and allowed only one base hit after the first inning.

"I was a little nervous," she said. "We just had to get into our groove."

Harmon also found her groove at the plate. She had an RBI single in Shadow Ridge's two-run second. With the Mustangs still trailing 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Harmon hit a two-run double to put them ahead. Britney Cato's single later in the inning knocked in an insurance run.

Despite Harmon's strong performance on the mound and at bat, she deflected the attention to her team.

"We feel good about everything because we've beat the best in the region," Harmon said. "I just love every single one of my teammates."

Shadow Ridge coach Cynthia Winter also emphasized her team's chemistry.

"We believed in each other and we were together as a team throughout the tournament," she said.

Shadow Ridge finished third in the Northwest Division in the regular season. Centennial won the Northwest crown, beating the Mustangs in both regular-season meetings.

Centennial's Jennifer Watkins pitched a complete game, allowing six hits, and Kristy Naugle went 2-for-3 with a run for the Bulldogs.

• Centennial 9, Sierra Vista 3 -- Jennifer Johnson and Watkins combined to pitch a three-hitter as the Bulldogs cruised past the Lions (29-10) to reach the championship game.

Facing elimination, Centennial jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and Katie Lee's two-run double capped a four-run fourth that pushed the Bulldogs' lead to 7-1.

Sierra Vista was unable to recover, with Watkins allowing only one hit after the fourth.

Johnna Brown finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs. Lee was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs, and Teresa Healy went 3-for-5 with two runs.

Sierra Vista's Kristin Delahoussaye had an RBI and a stolen base, and Tayler Aleman doubled.