It’s been five years since Freedom won an outright Bay Valley Athletic League title, despite sharing the last three league titles with intra-district rival Heritage, who faced the Falcons to start league play. On Tuesday afternoon, Freedom took a big step towards that goal, exploding in the bottom of the sixth inning for eight runs, en route to the 10-3 victory.
“It’s a good start, and it’s always better to put the pressure on (Heritage) for the second meeting,” said Freedom coach Brook Russo. “We’ve won at their house before, so it’s good to be in this position.”
Heritage (7-3, 0-1 BVAL) took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, sparked by a run-scoring single from senior Riley Ehlen, and managed eight hits off Freedom ace Vanessa Strong. But Strong was able to scatter those hits after the first inning, and Freedom (10-0, 1-0) drew even in the bottom of the fifth, albeit after a strong defensive play to end the top of the fifth. Kortney Marquez had a two-out double for Heritage in the top half of the inning, but Madison Saunders threw Ehlen out trying to score, keeping the deficit to just two runs at the time.
“I could feel the momentum shift when (Saunders) made that throw to home,” Russo said. “Once we tied the game, I knew we were in good position.”
Ashlie Livermore’s sacrifice fly to right field scored Mackenzie Nelson for the first Falcons’ run of the game, and Kalissa Heihn came through with a two-out single through the infield to left field, scoring Sydney Carmignani to tie things at two runs each.
Strong allowed a one-out double in the top of the sixth to Heritage’s Michaela Farr, but nothing else, and the Falcons’ offense really went to work in the bottom half of the inning. Allyson McBroom led off with a single to center, and was bunted over to second by Angelica Houston, who was also safe on the play. Delia Scott then struck out Nelson for the first out of the inning, but Madison Saunders’ ground ball to short resulted in all runners reaching safely, loading the bases with one out.
Carmignani broke the tie with her single to right field, scoring McBroom with the go-ahead run, but Freedom was far from done. Allyson Ferreira lined out to second base for the second out, but Houston scored on an error and Livermore followed with a three-run homer to right field to give Freedom a 7-2 lead. The Falcons then strung together five consecutive two-out singles, with McBroom, Houston, and Nelson all driving in runs during their at-bats.
“We know once we start hitting, things will click. Our dugout was very powerful in the sixth inning,” Russo added. “The girls looked very comfortable and confident at the plate, and were able to adjust to her change-up. The confidence was the big thing there.”
Livermore drove in four runs to lead Freedom, while Nelson, Ferreira, McBroom, and Heihn had two hits each. Strong struck out nine batters during the complete game victory. Farr had three hits to pace the Patriots’ lineup.
“Vanessa pitched a heck of a game for us, to hold that lineup in check,” Russo concluded. “Their one through nine batters can all hit, and she did a great job.”
Freedom plays at Antioch this Thursday. Heritage hosts Pittsburg on Thursday.
Moreau Catholic hands Logan stunning league loss
It had been eight years since a Mission Valley Athletic League team other than Newark Memorial had defeated James Logan. On Tuesday, visiting Moreau Catholic ended that string, scoring three times in the top of the seventh inning and then holding off a furious Colts’ rally in the bottom half for the 4-3 victory.
Moreau took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a bases loaded walk to junior Gabrielle Perez, but the teams remained scoreless from there, as Logan’s Camille Rodriguez and Moreau’s Haley Santa Cruz matched each other in the circle. Each allowed seven hits in the game, but stranded multiple runners.
“Haley had everything working,” said Moreau Catholic coach Christine Krisman. “She used her rise in good situations as well, working ahead in the count, and got a lot of pop-ups to second base.”
The Mariners held that 1-0 lead headed into the seventh, and then added some much-needed insurance runs. Senior Arielle Acosta drove in a run with her double, and sophomore Leila Velasquez added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0. Janessa Khamseh then drove in Acosta to complete the rally, and leave Moreau with a four-run advantage heading into the final half-inning.
Logan made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh, especially when Aliyah Yates drove a ball to the outfield with two runners on. Her double scored both runners, and a pair of errors on the play allowed Yates to come around and score as well, cutting the lead to one run. But Santa Cruz then retired the next two batters to end the game, and score a massive win for the Mariners.
“We have been in this league for seven years, and they have been on top for so long,” Krisman commented. “But we have been expecting great things from this team, after we did not graduate anyone from last year. All the rain led to a lot of missed practices for us, and some sloppy play in some losses, but we are looking forward to seeing what we can do with some consistent practices, and obviously this win helps.”
Schuring leads Saint Francis to big win over Mitty
Instead of going down quietly after Mitty sophomore Jenna Jenkins gave the Monarchs a one-run lead with her two-out single to score Kaitlyn Matherly in the bottom of the fifth, Saint Francis responded with two runs in the top of the sixth to beat the Monarchs, 2-1.
Hailey Prahm got things going with her one-out triple in the sixth, her third hit of the game, and Andrea Delfino singled up the middle on the next pitch to score Prahm and tie the game. After Delfino stole second during the next at-bat, Jordan Schuring then helped her own cause by singling to left field, scoring Delfino with the game-winning run.
The sixth-inning rally made a winner in the circle out of Schuring, who allowed just two hits to the Mitty offense, while striking out eight batters.
With the victory, Saint Francis drew even with St. Ignatius for second place in the WCAL standings, a half-game in front of Mitty and one game behind Valley Christian, who beat Sacred Heart Cathedral 11-1 on Tuesday.
Carlmont earns walk-off win over Hillsdale
Amanda Kondo’s two-out single to center field scored Mailey McLemore from third base, allowing Carlmont to walk off the field with a 7-6 win over Hillsdale on Tuesday afternoon.
The game-winning hit was part of a huge game for Kondo, who went 3-for-3 with two doubles and drove in four runs. McLemore went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, and scored twice for the Scots, overcoming an atypical performance in the circle for the Carlmont standout, as she allowed eight hits and walked six batters.
Hillsdale got two hits each from Ashleigh Wong and Isabella Zalba, who drove in a pair of runs for the Fighting Knights.
The win kept Carlmont alone in first place in the PAL-Bay standings, now two games in front of Hillsdale and Half Moon Bay.
Antioch holds off cross-town rival for BVAL-opening win
Single runs in the second and third innings were just enough for host Antioch, as the Panthers held off Deer Valley for a 2-1 victory on Tuesday afternoon.
Antioch took a lead in the bottom of the second inning, with a brief two-out rally. Anastasia Martinez tripled with two outs, and Jayleen Sepulveda followed by taking a 2-0 pitch into left field for a single, scoring courtesy runner Katlyn Lopez for the 1-0 lead. The Panthers added another run in the third, following Ayanna Sanchez’ one-out double. Dena Rosa replaced Sanchez as a courtesy runner, and after a walk to Haley Ferguson, Priscilla Self singled to score Rosa.
Deer Valley cut into the lead during the top of the sixth inning, on a two-out RBI single by Desttany Parker, which scored Aaliyah Diaz, but Sanchez retired the next four batters she faced to close out the victory.
The teams will meet again on Wednesday in the Antioch Invitational.
Moisa pitches San Benito to key victory
Amanda Moisa struck out five and scattered four hits, leading San Benito to a key 3-0 win over Notre Dame-Salinas on Tuesday afternoon.
Dominique Monteon tripled for the Balers, scoring once, while Amber Rodriguez had two hits and drove in a pair of runs to pace the San Benito offense. Ariel Mendez doubled in the other run.
The win moved San Benito a half-game in front of Watsonville in the MBL-Gabilan standings, while Notre Dame falls two games back.
