Katy and Cinco Ranch faced each other for the third time this softball season Thursday. But the stakes were considerably higher for the District 19-6A rivals.

Katy downed Cinco Ranch 8-0 in a one-game Region III-6A quarterfinal playoff at Tompkins High. The Tigers also beat Cinco Ranch during district play on March 9, 16-0, and April 12, 6-0.

Scoreless through two innings, Katy scored six runs in the third and fourth to pull away and secure an 18th consecutive win.

“I think they quit trying to swing so dang hard early and finally put the ball in play,” Katy coach Kalum Haack said. “Once we started to get a few runs, I think we could take a sigh of relief and we started playing a little bit better.”

Cinco Ranch, the fourth-place team out of 19-6A, wrapped up an admirable campaign at 17-16 overall and in the third round of the playoffs for the second time in three years.

The Tigers, ranked No. 1 nationally by MaxPreps and USA Today, improved to 37-1-1 and play Brazoswood (30-7) in next week’s regional semifinals. Brazoswood finished off a sweep of defending state champion Pearland on Thursday.

Katy got on the board in the third inning on a pair of two-out RBI singles from junior first baseman Montgomery Henderson and sophomore catcher Maddie Smith.

Then the Tigers broke the game open in the fourth.

A pair of Cinco Ranch infield errors to lead off the inning induced a pair of baserunners with no outs. Katy pounced, following with RBI singles from senior center fielder Ashtyn Reichardt and junior third baseman Hailey Gore, a sacrifice RBI from senior pitcher Cameryn Harrison and a two-out RBI single from sophomore right fielder E.K. Smith.

“Just keeping it simple with our swings,” said E.K. Smith, who had a team-best three RBIs. “Not trying to do too much. Not trying to be the big person. Any of us can have big moments, but we win when we keep it simple and just let the ball take its course.”

E.K. Smith’s one-out, two-run home run in the sixth, her 11th of the season, was the final punch.

The Tigers’ middle of the lineup — Henderson, E.K. Smith and Maddie Smith — was prolific. The trio combined to go 6-for-10 with five RBIs, one walk and no strikeouts.

“They’ve always been pretty solid,” Haack said. “Especially Montgomery, she relaxed and found the holes in the infield. E.K. … she just does a good job taking a good swing, and she’s real consistent hitting the ball. I don’t think she swings for the fence. She just has a real good cut, and when she hits it hard, it goes over.”

By Haack’s admission, Katy struggled with runners in scoring position. Fourteen Tigers went up to the plate with runners on base. Eight of those runners scored.

But small ball was effective in putting runners on and moving them over. Katy laid down two sacrifice bunts, had a sacrifice fly and scored a run off a sacrifice fly to the outfield.

Small ball execution was a concern of Haack’s entering the playoffs. It has not been an issue in the postseason.

“They get tired of bear-crawling. They get tired of running,” Haack said. “A lot of times in practice, if you miss your bunt, the person behind you has to do the running. You’ve got to find ways to put pressure on in practice. So, that will get your attention. If there’s a consequence to you or somebody else, your focus is better, your intensity is better, and your give-a-crap is better.”

Harrison and junior Lauryn Soeken combined for the 30th shutout of the season for Katy pitching.

Harrison threw five innings, allowing two hits while striking out 11 and walking three. Fifty-six of her 83 pitches were strikes.

“I’ve thrown to them a bunch of times, so they know what I have,” Harrison said. “They attacked well and knew what I was coming with. They came out trying to catch my fast stuff, so I mixed in my changeup more and rolled with the punches.”

Soeken threw two innings of relief, allowing one hit, striking out two and walking two. Twenty-two of her 37 pitches were strikes.

Thursday’s game was Katy’s first of the playoffs that was not decided by run-rule. The Tigers have outscored their postseason opponents 57-0 and have allowed one run, total, since March 22.

Players credit team chemistry.

“It starts with our offseason,” E.K. Smith said. “We go through mat room, we run. We’re there for each other every single day, even at our lowest. That’s a big thing that keeps us in games. It teaches us to be there for each other and keeps everyone up during games.”