Down and Dirty Wins for Simi Valley, 1-0 : High school softball: Cunningham beats out a bunt and later slides home with the only run in the sixth to beat El Modena.

Two marks in the dirt told the story of Simi Valley High’s 1-0 victory over El Modena in the Southern Section Division I softball quarterfinals Thursday at Rancho Santa Susana Park.

One was the divot where Jessica Cunningham’s bunt settled in fair territory, giving the Pioneer third baseman a leadoff single in the sixth inning.

The other was the skid mark about four feet wide of home plate, where Cunningham slid around a tag with the winning run later that inning.

“She couldn’t have done that better,” Pioneer Coach Suzanne Manlet said. “But it was typical for her. She loves to get dirty.”

Simi Valley (24-1-1) is top-seeded in the playoffs and ranked second in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. The Pioneers will face Ocean View, which beat Mater Dei, in the semifinals on Tuesday at a site to be determined.

It figured that the game would be decided by one play. The Pioneers started ace Sara Griffin (19-1) against El Modena’s Alexis Beckman (18-5), who has signed to pitch at Boston College next season.

The pitchers matched zeros until the bottom of the sixth, when Cunningham led off with her perfect bunt. El Modena catcher Nicki Kolody nearly picked up the ball, but let it roll, hoping it would go foul. It didn’t.

“It just died,” Kolody said. “I think on any other field it would have gone foul.”

Cunningham accepted no credit for the placement of the bunt.

“That was just luck,” she said.

Cunningham took second base on a passed ball--the only defensive mistake in the game by either team--and went to third on a sacrifice by Jenny Conmay.

Griffin slapped a ground ball to second baseman Amy Moreno, who checked Cunningham at third and threw to first for the out. As Moreno threw the ball, Cunningham took off for the plate.

She saw Kolody move a step up the first base line to catch the ball, so she slid to the right of home plate.

“I wasn’t sure where (the plate) was,” Cunningham said. “But I reached for it and I knew it was somewhere out there. I know I wasn’t tagged, though.”

Kolody, who did not argue the umpire’s safe call, said she wasn’t sure if Cunningham avoided the tag or not.

“It was close,” she said. “Very close.”

Griffin, who gave up two hits, struck out six and walked none, was wondering if anyone would score. She had, after all, pitched in a 24-inning, scoreless tie earlier this month.

“I would have liked to score earlier, but (our) defense held up and made the plays,” Griffin said.