Marcus finally realizes the company it’s in heading into this weekend’s series with Plano East.

     “We have four kids on this year’s team that were on the team two years ago (that went to the state tournament) and they know what to anticipate as we move on,” Marcus softball coach Christy Tumilty said. “The others were just coming along for a while, but after the last round, they’ve really started to realize that there are a lot of teams sitting at home right now. We have something special going on here.”

     Marcus (25-6-2 overall) swept Lubbock Coronado last weekend and will face Plano East in a best-of-three series in the Class 5A regional final. The series started on Wednesday in Frisco, but no scores were available as of press time. Game 2, however, is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Friday – also at Frisco. Game 3, if necessary, will be Saturday at 2 p.m.

     This weekend’s series is only Marcus’ second in this year’s postseason. They opened playoffs with single game victories over Euless Trinity, Irving Nimitz and Coppell. They haven’t lost since April 22 and have won 15 of their last 16 games. This includes three shutouts in playoffs.

     “The kids are just staying calm and playing with confidence,” Tumilty said. “The way we have been playing defense, it really shows just how much we are playing as a whole team.”

     The upcoming series is sure to be another defensive struggle for both teams. Marcus, of course, is led by ace Heather Foust – who shut out Lubbock Coronado 11-0 on Friday and then hung on to win 7-4 in Game 2 on Saturday. She struck out eight on Saturday.

     Plano East doesn’t come with the same gaudy numbers or record as Marcus (fourth place team in District 8-5A), yet is noticeably on fire behind the stingy arm of Taylor Jones. For the year, Jones is 23-12 with a 1.19 earned run average and 16 shutouts. She has 255 strikeouts in 222 2/3 innings. Just last week, she went 4-0 with three shutouts in wins over Grapevine, state-ranked Keller and Weatherford.

     East has won eight of its last nine games.

     Marcus – who was in the state tournament in 2007 – is simply hoping to take care of its own business while trying to get back to the big dance. In the 11-0 win on Friday, Danielle Blocker – who got some clutch hits in a win over Coppell one round earlier – had two doubles while Devon Wallace added another. Wallace was also 3-for-4 with two runs scored in Game 2. Blocker and Foust each had three RBI in the game as well.

     “It’s exciting, that’s for sure,” Tumilty said. “We are putting the ball in play and we are playing well as a team right now.”