Prep softball: Archie Williams flies around the bases to beat Marin Catholic

Paige Murphy reached first base on an error to lead off the bottom of the first inning for the Archie Williams softball team on Tuesday then immediately set the tone with some aggressive baserunning.

Murphy advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, took third base on the throw to first, and then came around to score on a throwing error to third to give the Peregrine Falcons a 1-0 lead.

The Peregrine Falcons spent the rest of the game flying around the bases en route to an 8-2 victory against Marin Catholic at Red Hill Park.

“Baserunning can change the momentum of a game and they were making mistakes and we were capitalizing on them,” Murphy said. “We put pressure on their defense and forced them to make plays and ultimately they didn’t. But we just kept forcing them to make plays and putting the pressure on them.”

Catcher Kennedy Dunsing and Emma Freed were credited with three steals apiece. Murphy and Lydia Battaglia had two each. Chase Unger and Lillian Contreras each swiped one bag.

The victory was the eighth consecutive league win in a row for the Peregrine Falcons (10-3, 8-1 MCAL), who moved a game ahead of both San Rafael and Redwood a day before a critical showdown against the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

MC (5-5-1, 3-4) tied the game on an RBI triple by Morgan Carlson in the top of the third but the Peregrine Falcons had already seen proof of concept with their aggressive baserunning and doubled down on it.

Murphy hit a leadoff triple in the bottom of the third then drew enough attention while remaining at third to allow Unger to reach first base on a bunt. Murphy bolted for home when a throw back from the catcher to MC pitcher Selena Peña got away from her and the Falcons were back in front for good.

Dunsing made all that immaterial with an RBI double that scored Unger and would have scored Murphy anyway. Dunsing was then involved in a double steal to stretch the lead to 4-1.

“The big thing was testing their catcher and testing their fielding and seeing how far we can push them and how aggressive we can be on the bases,” Dunsing said. “Starting off aggressive like that right out of the gate just puts us at an advantage. We’re setting the pace of the game and making them throw. We all just really wanted to come in with an aggressive, focused mindset and that’s what we did.”

Sarah Conway tacked on an RBI single to score Lydia Battaglia for a 5-1 lead.

Murphy got the Peregrine Falcons going for a third time by drawing a two-out walk in the fourth before stealing both second and third. Unger drew a walk then stole second, setting the table once again for Dunsing to deliver the game’s biggest hit – her third of the game — a two-run double that rolled under the makeshift fence in center field for a 7-1 lead.

“I was looking for my pitch personally and that’s pretty much middle-outside, probably waist high and waiting on a fastball because they do like to throw in changeups and curves,” Dunsing said.

Dunsing got caught leading a bit too far off second base but advanced to third on the throw then scored on another errant throw for an 8-1 lead.

The cushion was large enough for Archie Williams coach Joe Bell to rest Murphy after she allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out five in five innings – preserving her a bit for Wednesday’s showdown against San Rafael.

“It was definitely really key that we scored all those runs early so I can save myself a little bit for tomorrow,” Murphy said. “Three games in a row is a lot, especially coming back from spring break. Honestly it was just great that we scored all those runs and we have all this confidence going into the game.”

Amelia Richer pitched two innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out two. Freed had two hits for the Peregrine Falcon.

The loss left MC a game and a half behind San Marin for the fourth and final playoff spot. MC travels to San Marin to face the Mustangs in another crucial game on Wednesday.

Carlson was the biggest bright spot for MC on Tuesday, going 4 for 4 with two RBIs, including an inside-the-park home run in the fifth. Peña had two hits for MC.