Team to beat? Sunset enters 6A softball playoffs as No. 1 seed after dramatic win over McNary

The Apollos get a tying homer in the seventh and a winning homer in the eighth for a thrilling 3-2 victory

The Sunset softball team is all smiles after Thursday’s 3-2 eight-inning win over McNary. / Dan Brood

CEDAR MILL — The Sunset softball team, which is taking some high hopes to the Class 6A state playoffs, was looking to get a good tuneup for postseason play when it faced a strong McNary team in its final regular-season game.

The Apollos got just what they wanted — and then some — as well as a bunch of momentum and confidence.

In Thursday’s nonleague game at Sunset High School, the Apollos trailed the Celtics 2-0 going to the bottom of the seventh inning. The Apollos got a tying two-run homer from senior Jordan Peña and a walkoff homer from sophomore Kaia McKenna to lead off the bottom of the eighth, giving the jubilant Sunset squad a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory.

“We tend to have a lot of excitement toward the end of our games. We like to keep all of our fans on their toes,” Peña said. “But as a whole, we’re a very gritty team and we never give up. And we’re always looking for more.”

Members of the Sunset softball team celebrate at home plate after senior Jordan Peña’s tying two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning in Thursday’s game. / Dan Brood

“Our team now is just so positive. We love that feeling of all the pressure,” Sunset senior Dajah Paz said. “I thought we pushed through it and had that grit.”

Sunset finished its regular-season slate with a record of 23-4. Maybe even more impressive is the Apollos’ penchant for winning close games. The win over McNary marked Sunset’s sixth one-run victory.

“I think our biggest strength is that we don’t give up until the last pitch,” Peña said. “That’s what got us through the entire season. We have a grit and a fight that I haven’t seen too many times in a team. That and the fact that we’ve really come together as a team this year is what’s been pushing us through.”

“I think even when we’re down, we just keep going and going and pushing to the last inning,” Paz said.

Sunset, which held the No. 2 spot in the final Class 6A coaches poll, jumped to No. 1 in the OSAA power rankings entering the Class 6A state playoffs. The Apollos will start their postseason trek Monday when they play host to Grant in a first-round game at 5 p.m. at Sunset High School.

“This game (against McNary) shows us the competition that’s ahead of us,” said McKenna, the team’s catcher. “This shows us we really need to focus and put in the effort. We know we have the ability and the potential to win, and I think we can do it. Everyone just needs to stay up, stay positive. We just need to go 100.”

Sunset senior Dajah Paz (left) and freshman Sydney Arnold celebrate after the Apollos’ 3-2 eight-inning win over McNary. / Dan Brood

Sunset, which won its first Metro League title since 2019, going 10-2 in league play, appears to be one of more than a handful of teams — along with Sherwood, Jesuit, North Medford, West Salem and West Linn, to name some — with a legitimate chance to make a run at a state title.

“I want to go to the ‘ship. That’s what I want to do,” Paz said, referring to the state championship game. “I love all of the competitiveness. I think this year, overall, there’s the most competitive group of teams that I’ve seen.”

“I think there’s some good, competitive teams up in the top five, but we’re ready to go. We’re going to put our best foot forward,” Peña said. “I think that we want to walk away, no matter where we end up, feeling good about ourselves — feeling that we gave it our all. It would be disappointing if we didn’t do that. So, I think our biggest goal is to be happy with what we do.”

Peña, who patrols center field for the Apollos, has been a big part of Sunset’s offensive attack. She’s batting .352 with six doubles, two triples, four home runs, 26 runs and a team-high 31 RBIs.

She also sounds like she’s ready for postseason play.

“This is our last opportunity, and we need to make the most of it, especially for the seniors,” Peña said.

Peña is just one of the big bats for the Apollos.

Junior Keana Cooper, who didn’t play Thursday, has a .374 batting average with 11 runs, a triple, four home runs and team-high totals of 31 runs and 12 stolen bases. Freshman Sydney Arnold boasts a team-best .387 batting average with 11 doubles, two triples, a home run and 14 RBIs.

Sophomore Shelby Townsend has a .375 batting average with nine doubles, a home run, 20 runs and 18 RBIs. McKenna has stepped up with a .333 average, five doubles, a triple, three home runs, 18 runs and 18 RBIs.

The impressive numbers go down the lineup, as senior Claire Hattendorf, Paz, freshman Claire Townsend and freshman Maddox Larson are batting .312 or better.

Sunset freshman Sydney Arnold fires a pitch in the first inning of the Apollos’ 3-2 win over McNary in Thursday’s game at Sunset High School. / Dan Brood

Arnold, who threw the first six innings Thursday, has emerged as a strong pitcher. She has a 1.78 earned-run average with 124 strikeouts and 13 walks in 110 innings. Freshman Anna Moreno, who pitched the final two innings Thursday and recorded the win, has a 2.07 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 11 walks in 47 and one-third innings.

Besides the hitting and pitching, Sunset has another strength: the teamwork, led by the team’s seniors, Gianna Micciche, Paz, Peña, Hattendorf and Sofia Santana.

“It’s really fun being on the team, supporting everyone and feeling supported. Honestly, I’m just looking up to the seniors and want to follow in their footsteps,” McKenna said. “We have our pregame talks, and all of them (the seniors) are so inspirational. They help the team get into the game, and they keep everyone up in the dugout. They really have us focused in on the game.”

Sunset freshman Claire Townsend holds up the ball after tagging out McNary senior Hailey Carbajal on a stolen base attempt. / Dan Brood

The Apollos are looking to benefit from Thursday’s game against McNary, which brought a 19-6 record to the contest.

“I think this game will help us get into that mindset,” Peña said. “Before the game, we were like, ‘We have to pretend this is our last game. If we don’t win this, we’re going home.’ I think that helped us get into the perfect mindset going into Monday.”

“This will help a lot,” Paz said. “It was like a warmup for us. We’re playing them all like it’s the last game ever.”

McNary junior pitcher Natalie Macik kept the Sunset offense in check the first six innings, coaxing ground ball after ground ball. The Celtics got an RBI double by Macik in the top of the third inning and another run on a sacrifice fly by junior Josalyn Netzel in the top of the six to claim a 2-0 lead.

Arnold led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to center field. Peña blasted a tying two-run homer deep over the fence in center field.

Sunset senior Jordan Peña blasts a tying two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning in the Apollos’ win over McNary. / Dan Brood

“For me, before I go up to bat, I’m always telling myself, ‘You’ve got to do something here,’” she said. “So, when I go up there, the pressure’s off.”

The left-handed hitting McKenna, leading off the bottom of the eighth with the score 2-2, smacked her walkoff homer over the fence in right field.

“Honestly, walking up to the plate, I was like, ‘OK, I can either drag bunt or I can hit,’ and I was like, ‘I feel confident, so let’s hit,’” McKenna said. “It was like, eyes on the ball and just barrel it. It felt awesome. … It was, wow, I just won the game, my teammates are supporting me. I felt hyped. I felt ready for the playoffs. I’m ready to keep going. I’m ready to win.”

“This was pretty fun. I loved the walkoff home run by Kaia, and I loved Jordan’s home run, too,” Paz said. “We’re having fun and we have a positive attitude that we’re going to go far.”

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