Walkoff by Long sends Las Plumas to NorCal Regional final

BUTTE VALLEY - It took extra innings and a walk-off single by freshman Jayse Long, but the Las Plumas Thunderbirds' softball team is headed to the NorCal Division III Regional Final against Butte County foe Chico High School.

LP, the No. 2 seed, defeated No. 6 East Nicolaus 7-6 in a thrilling back-and-forth game.

"Honestly our coaches have so much confidence in us and they know no matter what if we're hitting good or not you're the best person in that batter's box and you're going to give them the best chance," said Las Plumas second baseman Marli Benedict, who homered in Thursday's win. "They always have our back no matter what. It doesn't matter where we start in the lineup, we always have confidence that that girl can do it. I think we all have each others' back and we can do it."

Thursday's game was reminiscent of the Thunderbirds' victory in the Northern Section title game. East Nicolaus scored twice in the top of the second inning on a pair of hits, an error, a passed ball and three stolen bases. In the bottom of the second LP appeared to be ready to respond, but the Thunderbirds stranded the bases loaded and could not score.

After LP pitcher Kyler Storey stranded two East Nicolaus baserunners and ended the top of the third inning with a strikeout, the Thunderbirds tied the game up in the bottom of the third.

Rylie McInturf flied out to begin the inning. Kendal Headley singled to left, Jayse Long flew out to deep right center and just missed a home run, but with two outs Benedict hit a 2-run home run to left field just under the scoreboard to tie the game at 2-2.

Storey looked at her teammates and said, "I literally just asked for that," appearing in a sense of relief. Benedict hugged her teammates and was greeted by her teammates at home plate as the Thunderbirds' home crowd rose to its feet.

"When we were down 2-0 with a runner on I knew I had to get her in, and honestly I looked at my coach and he said don't hit a popup," Benedict said. "I thought I popped out and I was really mad, and it was out and it was a new game again. It definitely brought our energy up again."

The Thunderbirds took a 3-2 lead one inning later when Adalyna Medrano singled to left, stole second and scored on a single to left field by Raegan Johnson.

Johnson, a sophomore, was key in the Thunderbirds' victory. In the bottom of the fifth inning she had a 3-run home run with two outs, after Lexi Hobbs reached on a walk and Medrano was hit by a pitch. Johnson's home run gave LP a 6-2 lead.

"Just pure excitement. I'm so thankful going through that at bat just having fun," Johnson said. "I was just looking to get a base hit and get on base."

Despite the lead, just like in the section championship when LP battled back from a large deficit, East Nicolaus scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 6-6. The Spartans scored four runs on two walks, two LP errors and one hit.

LP's pitcher Storey and East Nicolaus' pitcher Kylah Glenn did not allow a hit until the bottom of the eighth inning.

Johnson was hit a long fly ball to deep center field that was caught by a leaping centerfielder, leadoff hitter Brooklyn Atteberry nearly hit a walk-off home run but it was caught on the warning track, but the Thunderbirds rallied with two outs.

McInturf walked, and after a 11-pitch at-bat including seven foul balls Headley walked to bring up the freshman Long.

Long singled on a ground ball between shortstop and third base to bring home McInturf, who scored to send the Thunderbirds to the NorCal Regional Final just hours before she walked across the stage to graduate.

"It is so special and I think that's what pushed us so much. I love this team and playing with these seniors they deserve to go out with a great season," Long said.

The Thunderbirds and Panthers will face off at 4 p.m. Saturday at Butte College, with both teams chasing their first NorCal Championship since its start in 2022. Prior to 2022 teams' seasons ended after the Northern Section final.

Las Plumas coach Toby Thompson said while the Thunderbirds may not be playing their final game on their home field in Oroville, they've embraced the Butte College field as their own after playing on it for the past week.

Saturday's game will be a rematch of the Northern Section Division II Championship that took place two weeks ago, when Las Plumas defeated Chico 13-12 in an exciting back-and-forth game that ended in a walk off.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 8:05 PM.