May 9, 2006

The Girls of Summer

Mustangs force two-way tie for third with Westmont in Mt. Hamilton Division

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

Pioneer starting pitcher Alyssa Walker tossed a one-hitter as the Mustangs took a 6-0 win over Westmont on April 27.

Pioneer's Britney Rivas (2) knocked in a run with a bunt single in the bottom of the fourth inning during a 6-0 win for the Mustangs over Westmont on April 27. The win placed Pioneer in a two-way tie for third place in the Mt. Hamilton Division with the Warriors. Photos by Diego Abeloos

With the win, the Mustangs positioned themselves into a third-place tie with the Warriors in the Mt. Hamilton Division. Both teams ended the day with identical overall records of 13-7, as well as 5-4 records in league play.

Prior to the April 27 game, the Mustangs lost to Westmont on April 26 by a 2-1 score in nine innings, a day after dropping a 2-1 score in eight innings to Leigh.

“I told the girls that the game was on the line,” said Pioneer Head Coach Ernie Garcia. “This week was a tough week. We had Leigh on (April 25), we had Westmont yesterday and we had Westmont today. It was a very tough week for us … This win was huge. It puts us right back in the hunt of things.”

Walker ended the day with a six-inning shutout effort, allowing just two walks while striking out six.

“She’s taking control of her own pitches now and the results are what they are,” Garcia said of Walker. “ … She’s just been pitching phenomenal for us.”

Walker’s effort didn’t go unnoticed by Westmont Head Coach Jon Hennig either.

“We just weren’t patient and she dictated the game,” Hennig said of Walker. “She forced us to hit her pitch and we were out in front of everything.”

Pioneer’s bats went to work early with a three-run second inning off Westmont starting pitcher Whitney Morris. With runners on second and third, Warriors catcher Jacque Kuhny let a Morris pitch slip past her, allowing Danielle Clough to score for a 1-0 lead. Chenelle Blake then stepped up and hit the first of her two run-scoring triples on the day, allowing pinch runner Vanessa Silva to cross home plate for a 2-0 lead.

The Mustangs then added their third run of the inning on a grounder by Amber Medlock.

Pioneer’s offense went back to work again in the bottom of the fourth, getting runners on first and second on back-to-back errors by the Warriors. Leadoff hitter Britney Rivas then stepped up and placed a bunt toward the right side of the infield that managed to trickle into the outfield, scoring Blake from second for a 4-0 advantage.

Westmont starting pitcher Whitney Morris took the loss in a 6-0 Pioneer win over the Warriors on April 27. Morris allowed six runs in five innings pitched.

The Mustangs added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth off Morris, getting a two-out triple to right-center from Blake to score Silva, before Medlock laced a single to centerfield, scoring Blake for a 6-0 lead.

“There were some plays that weren’t made,” Hennig said of Morris’ tough outing against the Mustangs. “She was a little bit off today, with hitting her spots. But she’s a competitor and she still battled through. For what she was doing, she did pitch well. She pitched well enough and she deserved better.”

Garcia said he was particularly impressed with Blake’s offense on the day, which saw the left-handed swinger put together a 2-for-3 effort with two triples and two RBIs. Garcia said Blake had been struggling at the plate earlier in the week.

“It’s not about contact with her, it’s about not going on her heels,” Garcia said. “That’s what she did, exactly what I asked her and boom, two triples. She had her game on today.”

With the season drawing to a close on May 11, and with only a handful of games left on the league schedule, both Garcia and Hennig said they realize it’s crunch time down the stretch.

“Last year, with the same situation, we came back and we won the last five and put ourselves right. We ended up tied for second place,” Hennig said. “That’s going to be our goal, to win as many games as we can.”

Dons look to future for softball stamina

Hurler Zweigle demands great expectations

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

The softball see-saw dipped below .500-ball last week, when Del Mar dropped two games hosting first-place Evergreen Valley Cougars.

The erratic Dons (5-8, 7-15) hoped that a late season surge could land them an at large bid into CCS. However, the losses instead left Coach Bill Murray plotting the lineup for 2007, a youthful group that will return all but one player—senior captain, Kelsi Martinez.

“We’re young,” said Murray. “This is a team that won three games last year.”

Murray said he started four sophomores and three freshmen a year ago, en route to three wins and 21 losses, in his inaugural campaign as coach.

“We only have one senior this year,” he said. “But I have seen a lot of improvement already since last year. There is a huge difference this year of everybody getting used to [their teammates]. Last year they went out there thinking, ‘we’re going to lose.’ This year it was, ‘we can beat anybody on any given day.”

At times they have. Del Mar handed the reigning league champion Cougars (14-8, 11-1) their sole league loss, a 3-1 jibe on April 6.

Yet, Evergreen never forgets, and the Cougars avenged their early year lapse, ringing up 11 runs versus the Dons on May 1.

“That is the only loss they have, and they probably took it into consideration,” said Murray.

Del Mar defense, which Murray described as the centerpiece of his softball setting, could not plug Evergreen’s offensive surge, which smashed 11 hits in the 11-0 win.

“Defense is usually the thing that keeps us in games,” said Murray. “We try to get ground balls and get out of the inning; use pitchers to pitch to batter’s weaknesses. They just handled us pretty well.”

With retribution served and a game remaining in the series, Murray hoisted team spirits following the blowout.

“Just before the second game, I told them that Evergreen is the defending league champion, and that we finished near the bottom,” he said. “If they lose, it’s a shock. But if we beat them, then we’re world-beaters. I knew if we played pretty much care free then there is no pressure.”

The Dons responded in the second Evergreen game, and carried a 2-2 tie into the top of the seventh inning.

Freshman Lauren Zweigle’s pitching carried the team in her second outing of the week. Murray said Zweigle has turned in an outstanding freshman season, overall. She has 112 strikeouts and has posted a substantial 5-7 win-loss record.

Yet, Evergreen loaded the bases in the seventh, and cleared them with a triple. Two more runs scored, and the final score was 7-2, a misleading account of the game, according to Murray.

“The triple put the game away for them,” he said. “They came out and competed though. It was a completely different team than on Monday.”

Sophomore catcher Angelina Gomez paced the Dons on offense. She went 3-for-3, and knocked in one run.

“When we lose, it’s mostly by one run,” said Murray. “Now we have one more year of experience. Maybe now when we need that play in a clutch situation, they will come through. In another year they’ll be ready to go.”

Murray said sophomore Anna Myers is likely the most improved player on the team. After moving to second base, where she had never played before, last season, Myers has adjusted and thrived in her new position in the field and at leadoff.

Junior shortstop Courtney Pollack has been the Dons’ most frequent base runner. She leads the team with an approximate .400 on-base percentage.

And junior first baseman Kellene Condie currently leads the team with a .286 batting average.