Winslow's Justine Butterfield gets congratulations for a HR in 6th inning of Winslow's 12-2 semifinal softball playoff win over River Valley. (AzPreps365 photo)

No. 5 Winslow was having a good day at bat even when they weren't scoring runs the first four innings Saturday in its 3A softball semifinal matchup with No. 1 seed River Valley.

Down 2-1 after four innings, hits began falling like rain and combined with a flood of miscues by the Dust Devils a rout ensued late as the Bulldogs posted a 12-2 victory at Rose Mofford Sports Complex. Winslow stretched a 5-2 lead to 12-2 with a seven-run rally in the seventh that featured six hits and four River Valley errors.

Winslow (22-12) is back in a title game for the first time since 2014 when it won It will be the sixth time this decade the Bulldogs have reached the championship game (two titles, three runners-up).  Winslow faces  No. 11 Sahuarita, a 14-4 winner over No. 7 and two-time defending champ Empire in the other semi. 

For River Valley it was another frustrating finish to a season full of wins. The Dust Devils conclude 2018 with a 26-5 record and bow out in the semis for the third year in a row. River Valley blankedi its first two tournament opponents -- Coolidge and Page and had a 15-game winning streak snapped. 

Winslow managed a first-inning run and four hits the first four innings against River Valley ace Ashley Carter. Carter brought a 15-1 record and sub-1.00 earned run average to the contest. Her only loss was to 6A Sandra Day O'Connor in an invitational.

A two-run rally in the fifth put Winslow ahead to stay, 3-2, with Macie Cunningham delivering a sacrifce fly and River Valley commiting the first of seven errors that only added to its agony.

Winslow starting pitcher Jordyn Johnson, who left briefly in the top of fifth after being shaken up on a play at first, was holding her own through four innings. In to relieve was Justine Butterfield, who blanked Chino Valley the night before in the quarterfinals and was stationed in left field on Saturday. Butterfield retired River Valley 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fifth with a pop out to the cathers and two strikeouts looking.

Butterfield figured prominently at the plate a couple minutes later. She blasted the game's lone home run -- a one-out shot over the centerfield fence. Harleigh Scott, who collected four hits in the leadoff spot for Winslow, added an RBI single to push the lead to 5-2 to the bottom of six.

Butterfield pitched out of a jam in the last of the sixth, getting help with a runner thrown out trying to advance to third on a wild pitch. She retired River Valley's Ryann Glynn on a deep fly to right with two on to escape trouble.

Johnson returned to the game in the seventh and touched off the seven-run rally with a doubles. She added a tw-run single to cap the inning as 12 batters went to the plate.

Besides Scott's four-hit day, teammate Morgan Thomas was 3 for 5, Johnson 3 for 5, Chloe Wilcox 2 for 4 and Kaleb Clyde 2 for 4. Tianna Williams and Olivia Yoney had two hits each to pace River Valley.