Morgan Hill
– Sometimes the breaks just don’t go your way. Sometimes the
calls don’t either. Combine the two and it’s tough to overcome.
Last night, a little bad luck, a couple of disputed calls and an
opportunistic host conspired to send the visiting Gilroy High
softball team to a 3-2 loss at Community Park in Morgan Hill.
Morgan Hill – Sometimes the breaks just don’t go your way. Sometimes the calls don’t either. Combine the two and it’s tough to overcome.
Last night, a little bad luck, a couple of disputed calls and an opportunistic host conspired to send the visiting Gilroy High softball team to a 3-2 loss at Community Park in Morgan Hill.
While Mustang coach Julie Berggren, who got tossed out of the game for arguing a call in the third inning, said the officiating hurt her team, she also said she was proud of the way Gilroy hung tough against the Acorns and their ace pitcher Juliette Bowers.
“I don’t usually like to comment on the umpiring but it makes it difficult when you have to worry about whether the right call is going to be made or not. This is surely one we wanted to win but we came back and scored two runs. It’s early – this is just our third league game.”
Early on, Gilroy saw a pair of close calls go the other way, as Yolanda Esquivel was called out on a bang-bang tag play in the first inning and starting pitcher Sarah Villar was rung up on a play at first base despite appearing safe.
When Kylie Herrada was called out at home on the back end of a double play on which it appeared that the diminutive ‘Stang center fielder was illegally blocked off the plate by Live Oak catcher April Herrera before receiving the throw, Berggren lost her cool.
After discussing the play with the home plate umpire, Berggren loudly exclaimed, “How many calls are you going to blow today?” After the umpire warned her, she asked again, “How many?”
That got her thrown out.
Acorns coach Barry McDonnell agreed that his team received the benefit of a few questionable calls but added that the Acorns also had a bad call go against them on a pickoff play.
Meanwhile, Live Oak’s hitters were making solid contact against Villar, who appeared frustrated by an inconsistent strike zone. The Acorns tallied a run in the first on a pair of hits and an error, then two more in the fourth on two more hits and a pair of errors.
Trailing 3-0 going into the fifth inning, the ‘Stangs mounted a rally against Bowers in the top of the frame. After an error put Brittany Balanesi on base, Villar blasted a high drive to left field that went for a triple and pulled Gilroy within 3-1 with no outs. But the ‘Stangs couldn’t cash in Villar from third against Bowers, who induced a pop fly to the catcher, a strikeout (one of seven in the game for the senior) and a ground ball to shortstop Alyssa Adamo, whose throw just beat Amanda Tellez at first.
GHS would end up plating Olvera on an error to pull within 3-2 and had runners at second and third, but Live Oak first baseman Brittney Ondich made a stretching snag of a Balanesi liner that could have scored the tying and go-ahead runs.
The ‘Stangs again put a pair of runners on base in the seventh but couldn’t manage the equalizer. Gilroy (10-7 overall) fell to 1-2 in TCAL.
Live Oak 3, Gilroy 2
R H E
GIL 000 011 0 2 3 4
LO 100 200 x 3 9 8
WP – Bowers (7 K’s)
LP – Villar (4 K’s)
2B – Ondich (LO)
3B – Villar (GIL)
