Merced earns No. 10 seed in NorCal playoffs
| TOP 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Merced
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
Diablo Valley
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| TOP 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Merced
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
Diablo Valley
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| TOP 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Merced
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
Diablo Valley
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
Suzanne McGhee isn't worried about playoff nerves.
There was ample opportunity for them to fight their way to the surface during the last month of the season as her young Merced College softball team positioned itself for its first playoff appearance in seven years.
The She-Devils (26-11) never blinked, taking on all comers and winning 12 of their last 13 games to take second place in the Central Valley Conference and reach the postseason. Merced's reward was the No. 10 seed and a trip to No. 7 Diablo Valley College for a best-of-three NorCal Regional series this weekend.
"We knew we'd given ourselves the opportunity to play someone as talented as we are," McGhee said. "They might be a little better or a little worse, but it's a series we know we can win if we play like we're capable of.
"I know we're a young team and everyone is experiencing the playoffs for the first time, but I'm not really worried about nerves with this team. I've never really been able to get a feel for this group's emotions before a game. If they've felt nervous the last couple weeks, they've done a great job of hiding it."
DVC (26-13-1) placed fifth in the highly competitive Big 8 Conference. The Vikings advanced to the Super Regionals a year ago but returned only a handful of players, led by sophomore pitcher Nicole Nordahl.
"I talked to some of the other coaches in their conference, and the first thing they all talked about was their pitcher," McGhee said. "She throws a good rise ball and can change the level it comes in at, so it's something we're definitely going to be working on laying off this week.
"If we can stay patient and get to her, they don't really have anyone else that they throw, so we should be in good shape."
Diablo Valley is led offensively by first baseman Cynthia Duenas (six home runs, 25 RBIs) and third baseman Bailey Simmons (.319, three home runs, 23 RBIs).
"They've got a few girls with power that we need to be careful with, and their leadoff hitter has speed, so we need to get rid of the ball quick when she puts it on the ground and try to limit her on the basepaths," McGhee said. "The week off has been nice; it's given us a chance to heal up some of our injuries and to work on our conditioning.
"It's not quite where we want it to be going into the playoffs where you could play four games in two days. But we'll use this week to help get it back up."
Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/sports/college/merced-college/article75066797.html#storylink=cpy