The Forsan softball team played long ball to win Game 2 of at Class 2A regional quarterfinal series Saturday afternoon against Alpine.

The Lady Bucks returned the favor in the clincher.

Sydney McAllister, Kim Muniz and Jessica Castellano all homered for the Lady Bucks, who shook off the Game 2 loss to earn an 8-3 victory in Game 3 at the Ratliff Stadium Softball Complex.

Forsan won Game 2, 7-5, thanks to three home runs.

The victory sent Alpine to 31-8 on the season and moved the Lady Bucks into the regional semifinals next week against Jim Ned, with the site and time still to be determined.

Christina Graham added a pair of doubles in the deciding game, with Kathy Natera and Castellano also hitting doubles.

The loss dropped Forsan to 24-12 on the season and was the first playoff loss for the Lady Buffaloes in three years. They came into the season as the two-time defending Class 1A champions.

“We made some mistakes in the first game and we were still in it, and that’s what I was telling the girls between games,” Alpine coach Troy Canaba said. “That’s a good team over there, and I was waiting for them to come out and play the way they can, and they did in the second game.

“And the girls, for whatever reason, told me that they weren’t really focused during the second game. But they came out focused in Game 3, and it showed.”

The Lady Bucks, who have advanced to the regional semifinals for a third consecutive season, got two strong outings from pitcher Lauren Hardin, who had 18 strikeouts in the three games.

Still, after having split the first two games, Canaba wasn’t sure how his team was going to come out to start Game 3. Castellano knew her teammates were ready.

“We talked between games on how we needed to get back to our focus,” she said. “We let the first game get away from us, not hitting early, and then we started to hit but ran out of time, and we knew that we couldn’t do that again.

“When Sydney hit the home run, everyone relaxed and we were able to go from there.”

If McAllister’s two-run shot to straight-away center field  in the fourth inning was the one that got the Lady Bucks relaxed, Muniz’s solo shot just two batters later was the one that broke the Lady Buffs’ backs.

With Alpine leading 3-1, Forsan starter Ashley Buzbee hung a 1-0 pitch that Muniz was able to turn on and drive down the line in left field, clearing the fence and setting off a celebration when Muniz touched home plate.

Castellano, who made a diving play up the middle to throw out Forsan’s Gabby Womack in the fifth inning, added the icing to the cake with a two-out blast to left-center field in the sixth inning.

“Jessica did a great job today, not only with her bat but with her glove, too,” Canaba said. “The play up the middle gives us the chance to get out of the inning at the bottom of the order, and then she had a couple big hits and that’s what you want from your leadoff hitter.

“We’ve been in this position before and that should help with the experience. But we can’t afford to relax because there so many good teams still left.”