LAFAYETTE -- Centaurus' historical softball record may never be complete, but thanks to this year's young and talented team, the Warriors are making a little bit of history of their own. For the first time in known program history, they'll be going to the Class 4A regionals.
"Apparently the old records, older than MaxPreps records (1998), were lost in a flood, and so we have no record of Centaurus going to regionals," head coach Micci Reed explained.
After Wednesday's 18-15 victory over visiting Mullen, which pushed them to 19-2, there's no doubt they'll be included in the postseason. Prior to the contest, the Warriors were ranked No. 22 in CHSAA's Selection & Seeding Index, while Mullen sat at No. 35. Only the top 32 teams in the classification will move on.
They likewise went undefeated in their 4A/3A Frontier League to win it with ease.
"They're pretty excited," Reed said. "They're happy for each other. There's a sense of happiness for our seniors. We have two seniors, and it's cool to see that our younger people, our younger kids are into that, that they want to propel them and send them off with something really fun and special."
The Mustangs, however, certainly made the Warriors sweat. Centaurus erased a four-run Mullen lead with a five-run third inning, then continued to decimate the Mullen defense until it led 11-5 at the end of the fifth.
The Mustangs closed that entire gap with six runs in the top of the sixth before the Warriors, once again, responded in kind with seven of their own. Their defense took care of the rest, but not without a little excitement.
Freshman Charlotte Crim, who's been just one of many underclassmen to take the reins for the Warriors this season, led at the plate with four hits and five RBIs, while sophomore Morgan Sizemore backed her up with two hits and three RBIs of her own.
Junior starting pitcher Nora Midness, who struck out seven batters and gave up just two earned runs, said she's seen her team improve greatly since her freshman season that saw the Warriors finish 10-12.
"Oh my God, it's insane. I'm so proud of my team," Midness said. "I'm so proud of all the girls I play with. I've loved to see this program grow and everything that my coach and all of my teammates have done.
"It's definitely team spirit and how close we are. I feel like freshman year there was a lot of (discord) among the team. (The younger players) just showed so much talent and especially like perseverance being their freshman sophomore season. It's really cool to see."
The Warriors have just two games left on their regular-season docket -- a home game against Loveland on Friday and a road game at Battle Mountain on Saturday -- before learning where they'll land for the first installment of the postseason.
They won't have to wait long, with regional brackets set to be released on Monday.
"The main thing is they have a lot of joy for what they do," Reed said. "They still love it. They made up a game, giggled like little kids. They take care of each other. There's a sense of connectedness. And I know it sounds cliche, but that connectedness is what helps one girl pull the next along. We have some very athletic, very skilled young women on this team. It's not any drama."