Softball Recap: Parkland Finds Playoff Glory Versus Canutillo

Matadors

Margin (Wins)

04/17/25 @ Bel Air	18
03/11/25 @ Horizon	18
02/25/25 @ Pebble Hills	17
04/02/25 vs Bel Air	16
04/25/25 @ Canutillo	13

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Parkland had no problem doing just that on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Canutillo Eagles a 13-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Matadors, who have now won 15 matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.

Samantha Martinez made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 14 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one RBI.

In other batting news, Parkland got a massive performance out of Stephanie Flores, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs, three RBI, and two doubles. Those four runs gave Flores a new career-high. Olympia Castillo was another key player, going a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBI, one stolen base, and one run.

Parkland always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .600. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Canutillo only posted an OBP of .286.

Parkland is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-14 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Canutillo, the loss snapped their winning streak at seven games and leaves them with a 19-10-1 record.

Coming up, Parkland will challenge Lubbock-Cooper at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Matadors will need to watch out since the Pirates have now posted at least ten runs in their last four contests. Canutillo does not have any more games scheduled as of now.