Softball: Marcus’ playoff run ends.

FRISCO n Facing elimination in the playoffs for the fourth time, Marcus blinked Saturday afternoon.

Marcus had dispatched Euless Trinity with ease, downed Irving Nimitz and rallied to beat Coppell. But, Saturday the Lady Marauders couldn’t find a way past Plano East in the deciding game of the team’s best-of-three Class 5A Region I final series.

Plano East earned its second state berth defeating Marcus, 5-0, at Frisco’s Staley Middle School.

“Without a doubt it was a good run,” said Marcus coach Christie Tumilty. “It’s the second best playoff run in Marcus softball history. I’m proud of what they achieved this year. And I want them to be proud.”

After pounding out 15 hits Friday night in a Game 2 victory, Plano East went the manufacturing route on Saturday.

After two scoreless innings, East’s Chandler Cink led-off the top of the third with a walk. A sacrifice bunt and single from Lauren Peterson then put Lady Panthers at the corners with one out. Marcus’ Danielle Blocker, seeing her first time in the circle during the series, managed a strikeout for the second out of the inning but would not escape the frame unscathed.

Blocker could thank East Rachel Scott for that as a single to left field scored one East runner and a Marcus error on the same play scored another to make it 2-0.

The third inning went so well for the Lady Panthers that they decided to follow the blueprint once more in the fourth turning two hits turned into two more runs. Sophomore Alyssa Jones led off with a bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Another Marcus error pushed runners to the corners and Jones scored courtesy of a wild pitch with McKenna Brown at bat. Another walk to Cink ended the afternoon for Blocker as she was replaced in the circle by Lauren Whitby, who threw in relief Friday night as well.

A new pitcher didn’t drastically alter the results, as East’s Shelbee Young singled to load the bases before the Lady Panthers scored their second run of the inning via wild pitch. Whitby averted further trouble, but East was now in front, 4-0.

The second half of that score was particularly troubling to Marcus as the Lady Marauders had a golden opportunity to put some runs on the board in between East’s pair of two-run innings.

Marcus’s Kacie Hildreth and Jennifer Beardsley led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles. A ground out moved the runners to second and third base before a walk to Devon Wallace loaded the bases with just one out.

As had been the case in Game 2, East pitcher Taylor Jones stepped up her game with runners on base. Jones, who threw 27 innings in the series, got a strikeout then induced a ground out to Lauren Peterson to keep the Lady Panthers’ shutout intact at 4-0.

Not content with a four-run lead, Jones doubled to left center field with one out in the seventh inning to get in position for another run. Jaclyn Giovannini came in to pinch run and advanced to third base on a passed ball. The Lady Marauders nearly got out of the inning with a double play, but the second half couldn’t be completed because of an errant throw to first and Giovannini scored to set the final at 5-0.

Friday and Saturday was the first time the Lady Marauders had lost back-to-back games since the end of February.

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