Though the difference between a No. 10 seed and a No. 7 seed is numerically minimal, winning as the lower seed on the road is always a very good feeling.
The 2010 Calistoga High softball team enjoyed such a feeling with a 5-1 win over University (San Francisco) in the first round of the CIF North Coast Section Div. V playoffs.
Though a softball team needs to score runs, this game was a prime example example of having a stout pitcher and defense will give a team a puncher’s chance to win on any day.
Setting the stage: The Wildcats entered the postseason with a 14-4 record with three of those defeats coming against the North Central League II South champion Tomales Braves, which had a dominant pitcher in its own right, Nicole Nygard. Calistoga had Nicole Taylor.
This contest also represented a rematch from earlier in the season. Calistoga defeated University 12-4 on March 20, 2010, in the Calistoga Invitational. In that game, the Wildcats pounded out 12 hits with Megan Hunt and Rosa DeJesus each logging five RBIs. University scored four unearned runs against Taylor, who gave up five hits, two walks and struck out 11 batters.
Hunt was in the process of finishing a stellar career as a Wildcat, having starred at soccer, basketball and softball.
Thumbnail sketch of the game: Taylor pitched a five-hitter and Hunt was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored to lead the Calistoga.
Matea Alvarado was 2 for 4 with two stolen bases and a run scored, Taylor and Lucie Stanbor each went 1 for 3, Erin Lilly had a stolen base, and Jenna Reynolds had a stolen base and RBI for Calistoga.
Taylor went the distance for the Wildcats, striking out 11, walking three and allowing one earned run. University scored its only run in the bottom of the first inning. Calistoga came right back in the second inning. Reynolds, who walked, and Betsy Avila, who reached on a bunt single, both scored on a wild pitch.
Hunt delivered a two-run single and Reynolds drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning.
The defensive gem of the day took place in the fifth inning. Samantha Hernandez, who is University’s No. 2 hitter, started the inning with a single. The next batter, Serena Lowe, hit a foul pop-up that Hunt caught and initially threw wildly to first base in an effort to double off Hernandez, who took off for second after having dove back to first.
Right fielder Stambor picked the ball up and threw to Lilly at shortstop. Lilly tagged out Hernandez to complete the double play. Erin Reid then lined out to Lilly to end the threat.
“There are not many players that can make that play other than Megan Hunt,” Calistoga head coach Jake Blakeley said. “That’s quick to come out of your stance to catch the ball and be in a position to throw it. We have one in Megan Hunt. On top of that, the other players decided to play hard.”
The win meant very little in the short term. Calistoga travelled to four hours to Eureka three days later only to lose 9-0 to No. 2 seeded St. Bernard. The Wildcats’ win over University, however, was a very good example of how pitching, clutch defense and timely hitting give team’s a puncher’s chance whether the game is in Calistoga, San Francisco or Saskatchewan.
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