By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
SAN ANGELO — Most will argue baseball and softball are not meant to be played in one-game scenarios in the postseason.
However, every squad remaining in contention was forced to put its season on the line based on the results of one game either Monday or tonight due to the brief postponement of competition because of the threat of the swine flu earlier this month.

Fortunately, the Forsan Lady Buffaloes were able to overcome a slow start against Eldorado's Lady Eagles Monday and come away with a 13-5 win in a Class A regional quarterfinal matchup.

Eldorado found itself up 5-0 after the top of the second inning, mostly because of the struggles of Amanda Longorio in the pitcher's circle to consistently hit the strike zone.

However, the Lady Buffs pulled within one with four runs in the bottom of the second and Longorio settled down, allowing two hits and three walks in the final five innings of play.

Forsan Head Coach Shanna Roberts had Alyx Pappajohn, who is also a capable pitcher on the team, available, but said she was confident Longorio would pull out of the tough early stretch.

"I didn't really think about putting Alyx in until we got ahead," said Roberts. "Amanda was a little nervous. This was a one-game playoff. In this whole tournament, this was probably the hardest game to come into. Eldorado had already seen us, but they hadn't seen Amanda. I felt confident she was going to come back. She was nervous at first, but she came around.

"Amanda is strong mentally and she has a lot to do with the success of this team with her ability to fight back from adversity," said Roberts.

Keying the Lady Buffs offensively throughout the night was sophomore Miranda Park. Park had two doubles on the night and a triple for four RBI.

Parks first double of the night came with no outs in the bottom of the second and it put the first two Forsan runs of the game on the board.

While previous Lady Buffs batters were struggling with the changup being thrown by Eldorado's Bridgette Mitchell, Park sat on the pitch and drove to the wall down the left field line. Kelsey Jones and Longorio, who each walked earlier in the frame, came around to score in the inning.

Freshman Ambra Hill brought in two more runs with a single later in the inning, scoring Haylie Burleson and Kevy O'Brien to bring Forsan to a 5-4 deficit.

Park hit her second double to lead off the fourth. She scored three batters late, as did Burleson, after an errant throw by Eldorado third baseman Abby Fuentes on a ball hit by Sandi Golleher.

The fielding mishap gave Forsan its first lead at 6-5. It was all the Lady Buffs would need, but they weren't satisfied, either.

Two more runs scored in the frame when Golleher and Hill crossed on a single by Shelby Jones.

Park's triple in the fifth brought in Longorio who had singled to lead off the inning. Park scored on a fielder's choice ball hit by Burleson.

Hill picked up her third RBI of the game with a fielder's choice by the shortstop, scoring O'Brien. Golleher was plated by an error.

Park picked up one more RBI in the sixth, singling to score Kelsey Jones, who led off the inning with a double.

In all, Park was 4-for-4 on the night. Forsan collected 14 total hits as a team.

"I'm happy with the lineup," said Roberts. "Some of the girls who had been struggling some got some hits today so I'm hoping they're back on track."

Longorio allowed five runs — four earned — on three hits and eight walks, while striking out 10 batters.

It was Forsan's fourth win over Eldorado this season. Last time the two teams met, the Lady Buffs humiliated the Lady Eagles with an 18-2 victory.

Roberts was warned the team against believing it would dominate its district rival like that a second time.

"I've been telling the team all week not to count on beating Eldorado like that again," said Roberts. "We hadn't seen them play in about eight weeks. I had no idea what we were walking into. They could have gotten a lot better. I've been preaching all week to come in here with intensity and focus and to take care of this game."

The Lady Buffs will face the winner between No. 2 Albany and Seymour, which advanced to the state semifinals two seasons ago, defeating Forsan in the process.

Regardless of who the opponent is, Roberts believes the Lady Buffs will have to step their game up another notch.

"We're going to have play defense like we're capable of," said Roberts. "We have to continue to hit the ball, too. Defensively, we're solid. I just need to know what to expect from pitchers in the next round."

One reason the Lady Buffs are off to a strong start in the postseason in Roberts' mind is the victory they picked up over Coahoma in a practice game. The Lady Buffs defeated the Bulldogettes, 3-2, in 10 innings.

"That win was a huge boost for us heading into the playoffs," said Roberts. "Just the fact that we beat a state contender in 2A heading into the playoffs gave us a lot of confidence. We hadn't played games in three weeks at that point so we were cold. I think that win has a lot to do with us coming in as strong as we have."