Dusty Lester’s Gilroy softball team just completed the best two-year run at the school in 16 years. The Mustangs followed up last season’s 21-7 Central Coast Section Open Division campaign with a 20-8 roll that culminated in the CCS Division I final.
Gilroy was on fire in the 2008-2013 period with four CCS finals appearances. Softball is more competitive now and it is hard to be among the elite and stay there, but these Mustangs have done exactly that.
That 41-15 overall record the last two years has come with a challenging non-conference schedule and competition in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mt. Hamilton Division, one of the toughest loops in the CCS. In league play the last two springs, Gilroy has been 25-5, tying Willow Glen for first place last year and finishing second behind the Rams this year.
This year’s Mustangs competed in the CCS Division I playoffs and beat Scotts Valley 3-1 and Saratoga 1-0 before falling in the championship match by a 1-0 count to The King’s Academy. Although the title contest loss was disappointing, the Mustangs reflected on another excellent season and a solid playoff run.
“It was always our goal to make it to the final,” said Gilroy’s Jennie Hernandez, after the semifinal win. “That was our main goal. The past four years have been one-and-done in the playoffs.”
The Open Division quarterfinal defeat to Hollister last year left Gilroy in essentially fifth place in the section. This year’s result put them in 10th place in CCS, even with a thin roster and injuries.
Lele Yslava was the sole pitcher much of the year, fashioning a superb 0.75 ERA in 130.2 innings. Stella Rhodas also was in the circle at times.
Catcher Drea Delarosa was a foundational piece on defense and offense. The infield included Bam Mendoza at third, Jennie Hernandez at shortstop (until injured) and Christy Haro, as well as Leilany Martinez at second and Bella Sousa at first.
On the outfield grass, Gilroy went with Averi Peters, Utah-bound Dani Wilson in center and Caitlyn Correia in right. Jocelyn Ta was another key contributor who was injured.
Wilson excelled at leadoff, hitting 44-or-90 for a .489 average, while scoring 44 runs and stealing 23 bases. Additionally, she bashed four homers and knocked in 23 RBIs.
Ace pitcher Yslava was also superb with the bat, hitting 34-for-85 for a .400 mark, while belting seven homers, scoring 25 runs and delivering 33 RBIs. Delarosa also hit .400, going 36-for-90 with 19 RBIs. Mendoza hit .358 with three homers and 18 RBIs, Rhodas was 11-for-31 for .355, Peters hit .342 and Hernandez was at .329.
The Mustangs opened the playoffs by topping two-time defending Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champions Scotts Valley, holding the Falcons to just one hit. In the semifinals, the Mustangs faced red-hot Saratoga, El Camino League champs with a 20-2 record and a 10-game win streak.
The Falcons had scored 211 runs and allowed just 56. However, they fell far short of 9.6 runs a game as Yslava pitched a complete game, 1-hitter with 14 strikeouts. In fact, the one hit was a fluke spinning infield pop.
“The difference was pitching, as we struggled to hit the ball hard,” coach Lester said. “We got just one run but sometimes that’s enough. They stuck it out and did what they had to do. Lele was dominant. She’s the best pitcher in the league. I’m really proud of all the girls.”
The Mustangs got just enough offense. Delarosa had two hits and her fourth-inning single to left was the key. Pinch-runner Hernandez advanced on two wild pitches and scored on a Peters groundout to short. The 1-0 lead stood up.
“I’m so excited,” Wilson said. “We did what we had to do. She (Yslava) pitched her butt off.”
Only two Saratoga players even hit the ball to the outfield. There were 14 punch-outs, six groundouts/popups, two fly outs and one caught stealing.
“We were most prepared,” Yslava said. “I worked my spins and I worked outside the zone. They were behind the ball (too slow to get around on the fastball).”
Hernandez, mostly sidelined by an injury to her non-throwing shoulder, contributed big-time as a pinch-runner in the fourth inning. She advanced twice on pitches that evaded the Saratoga catcher. To score the winning run, she avoided the mistake of many runners by not leaving too soon.
“On the wild pitches, I read the ball in the dirt and then I went,” Hernandez said. “For the run, I waited for her (Saratoga shortstop Jemma Tsang) to release the ball to first base and then I ran. It felt great to score that one run. We needed that.”
There was a little Saratoga flurry in the seventh, with Sydney Riera on base via an error and Saira Ramakrishnan hitting a sinking liner to center. But Wilson made the defensive play of the game—or year—with a fast break on the ball and a diving catch of the blooper. Yslava fanned the next two Falcons and the Mustangs had the victory.
“I definitely knew I had it,” Wilson said. “I knew I was going to lay out for my girls.”
The title game was contested at West Valley JC on May 31. TKA’s Northwestern-bound star pitcher Katya Nesper, with a season ERA of just 0.33, was tough, yielding just two hits and striking out 12.
Delarosa had both Gilroy hits but the Mustangs could not get another one when they needed it.
On the other end, Yslava was shackling the Knights, allowing just four hits and striking out nine. But they got the one big knock. In the second inning after a walk to Hannah Woo and a groundout that advanced her to second, Kes Wong lofted a deep fly ball to left that bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double to score Woo.
“We were watching film and we were aggressive,” Delarosa said. “She (Nesper) is really good. But one swing of the game changed it for them. Our goal was to get here. Unfortunately, we lost. Last year, we had much of the same team. But we didn’t make it very far. We battled, we made adjustments. I’m very proud of us and how far we came.”
