No. 3 Crater ekes by Eagle Point in 5A state quarterfinal nail-biter

Published 3:15 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025

By KRIS HENRY / Rogue Valley Times

Comets advance despite managing only one hit against Eagle Point’s Leonardo in fourth meeting this spring

Crater softball coach Chris Arnold prepped his team earlier in the week about being ready for their moment, no matter when it may come during a Class 5A state quarterfinal matchup with Eagle Point.

Thanks to Eagle Point junior pitcher Brylee Leonardo, there weren’t many moments for the No. 3-seeded Comets on Friday, but they did take advantage as best as they could to score a 2-1 victory in a tight battle between the familiar foes.

Eagle Point’s Brylee Leonardo delivers a pitch against Crater Friday in Central Point. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

“It was just a great ballgame,” Arnold said of a fourth meeting with the Eagles this spring. “Games can swing on one at-bat, and, literally, the game tonight for us and Eagle Point came down to the last at-bat. It could’ve potentially swung either way until the very end.”

Eagle Point, the No. 11 seed, had runners on base in each of the final three innings in an effort to pull even or take the lead, but head coach John White said his team just wasn’t able to get that one extra hit to alter the outcome.

“I love that they battled,” said White. “We were prepared to win that game and had every intention of winning that game, and we played that way the whole way through. I think that kind of spoke for itself.”

“I’m disappointed that it didn’t get done,” he added, “but we outhit them 8-1, and the only hit was when Brylee Leonardo stepped aside and let a bunt go by her. She could’ve pitched a no-hitter against them.”

Midwestern League champion Crater (21-8) scored a run in the first inning when Allyson Nottingham, who had walked, raced home following a throwing error later in the inning on a grounder by Amanda Hammer.

The Comets pushed their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning after Danika Brackett reached on a two-base error, and then didn’t hesitate as she sprinted around third base toward home plate after Taylor Ryan put down her fateful bunt to the right side of the infield.

“We knew it was going to be kind of a bang-bang play at first base,” said Arnold, “so we sent Danika around from third to come home. She was thinking the same thing — that we were going to wheel her around third base and try to score since the play at first base was going to be awfully close — and it ended up working out.”

It’s an aggressive strategy that can be a flip of a coin, but one Arnold said his team is willing to make.

“Especially early on in the game, it’s OK to push when you know you’re going to have more opportunities later on in the game,” he said. “Go big early and try to do some aggressive things early, and Danika’s a very aggressive runner and she saw that opening.”

Crater senior Taylor Ryan drops a bunt down that leads to the eventual winning run during the third inning of Friday’s Class 5A softball state quarterfinal against Eagle Point. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

Crater couldn’t have known it at the time, but there would be no further openings on this day as a double play turned by the Eagles (16-12) erased further threat in the third inning, and Leonardo sat the Comets down in order over the final three frames.

Leonardo finished with two walks and two strikeouts and only the one bunt single allowed. Both runs against her were unearned due to errors.

“She’s always been capable of this,” said White of the right-hander, “but these last few games she’s been really good. She’s had good spin on the ball, getting a lot of pop-ups and not very many hard-hit balls.”

Arnold was equally impressed, noting a steady difference in Leonardo from Crater’s three prior wins over the Eagles during the MWL season.

“We anticipated that this game was going to be unlike any of the previous league games, in that the playoffs always add that extra degree of intensity,” said the Crater coach. “We knew that Brylee was going to be much sharper than she had been in the season — and she was — Brylee Leonardo threw a great game tonight.”

Crater typically is able to churn out hits up and down its lineup, but Friday proved to be an exception to the rule.

“The linescore on this one is kind of a head-scratcher,” Arnold said of the one-hit victory. “As a coach, you’d like to see a little more offensive production. We didn’t strike out a bunch tonight — we put balls in play — but we hit balls the way Brylee wanted us to hit them. She threw well and she got us to do what she wanted us to do.”

Eagle Point cut into its deficit after finally making some hay against Nottingham in the circle in the fourth inning. Kady Ledbetter reached on an error and was able to advance to third base on a two-out single by Riley Jacoby. Another error on a ball hit by Leonardo allowed Ledbetter to score, making it 2-1.

Crater right fielder Espn Ostroskie runs in for a stretching attempt at catching the ball during Friday’s Class 5A softball state quarterfinal against Eagle Point. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

Nottingham escaped further damage by inducing a pop-up back to her by Naomi Jackson, and continued to dodge Eagle Point threats in the final three frames despite EP getting runners in scoring position.

Madi Dean ripped a one-out double in the fifth and moved to third on a groundout, but was stranded when Nottingham got an inning-ending groundout to Ryan at second base.

Ledbetter led off the sixth with a single and moved to second on a one-out single by Jacoby, but another pop-up back to the pitcher and a nice play at third base by Gracey Thomas again denied the Eagles.

In the seventh, Sarah Estes had a two-out single to give her team hope, but it was short-live as Nottingham got Lindstrom to pop up to the shortstop Brackett to ice the game.

Nottingham scattered six hits with five strikeouts and no walks, and the only run against her was also unearned.

“Ally just had some unbelievable at-bats, pitching in some critical situations,” said Arnold, “and defensively we shut the door a little bit, too, in stopping some potential runs from scoring. There were some big moments in this game. Even though it wasn’t completely clean, defensively we did a pretty good job tonight.”

Crater’s Allyson Nottingham delivers a pitch against Eagle Point Friday in Central Point. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

With the win, Crater advances to a state semifinal matchup with second-seeded Thurston at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday in Springfield. The Colts claimed two of the three MWL matchups this spring with the Comets, although Crater had opportunities to tip that scale that simply didn’t come to fruition.

“We’re looking forward to another ballgame with a good, competitive team,” Arnold said of Tuesday’s matchup. “Thurston has definitely done a great job over the last few years getting to that level of competitiveness, and we like that and we look forward to that.”

“We know that as you move forward in the playoffs,” he added, “things get tougher each game and you’ve got deeper lineup and stronger pitching matchups, and that’s what you want. To get to the end and be the best, you’ve got to play the best teams, so we’re looking forward to it on Tuesday.”

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035

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