A time-honored truth of postseason play is that the odds are against the team who needs to beat the same opponent three times in one season.
Camp Verde High School’s softball team went home from the Division III quarterfinals Saturday,
May 10, on the wrong side of those odds and the score against top seed Payson High School, falling 5-2.
“It was a good run,” said sophomore Dusty Dowdle, who allowed one Longhorns hit and no runs against three batters in late relief of starter Taya Smith the day after sparking the Cowboys to a 10-7 second-round comeback win over Northwest Christian High School. “They’re definitely a tough team, but we should’ve had them.”
Especially considering that CVHS had been on a five-game win streak coming in, having not lost since their second defeat of the season to Payson and senior pitcher Ari Paulson, 4-3, on the road April 12, as she struck out 17 Cowboys batters. The Longhorns had also played spoiler this spring in the Cowboys’ home opener March 11, winning 6-1.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Dec. 25, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
