Two unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning ultimately
doomed the No. 3-seeded GHS squad, dropping a narrow 2-1 decision
to No. 2-seed Fremont in the Central Coast Section Division I
semifinals Wednesday in Palo Alto.
PALO ALTO – Able to dodge a bullet in a tight 1-0 win over Leland in the quarterfinals, the Gilroy High softball team once again found itself nestled in a close ball game against Fremont on Wednesday.
This time, however, the Lady Mustangs ended up on the losing end.
Two unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning ultimately doomed the No. 3-seeded GHS squad, dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to the No. 2-seeded Firebirds in the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals at Gunn High School in Palo Alto.
“I love this team. It’s going to be hard waiting for February,” GHS manager Julie Berggren said. “They are so much fun, but they never give up – never. That was evident right there in that last inning. They’re not hanging there heads.”
Freshman designated player Amber Gamboa breathed life into the Lady Mustangs with a two-out RBI-double off the base of the left-field fence in the top of the seventh to pull the Lady Mustangs within one run.
“I wanted to keep the team in the game and do my job,” Gamboa said of her double. “I was thinking get a hit.”
Despite that glimmer of hope, their season came to an end one batter later, one game shy of facing San Benito in the finals for the third straight year.
The top-seeded Lady Balers defeated No. 4 Wilcox 3-1 in the day’s other semifinal.
Firebirds pitcher Taylor DeSilva featured a nasty change-up that limited the Lady Mustangs’ productivity. Though they managed four hits, the Lady Mustangs never advanced a runner past second base until Gamboa plated the lone run in the seventh inning.
GHS scored just two runs over its two games, and aside from the seventh inning last Saturday, the Lady Mustangs had trouble stringing hits together.
“When you get into CCS you see better pitching,” Berggren said. “I would’ve liked us to score more runs, and I think we were capable.”
GHS starting pitcher Sarah Lira, who tossed a complete-game one-hitter in the quarterfinals, worked through the Firebirds’ lineup with ease over the first three innings, going toe to toe with DeSilva in the circle.
“I feel like we were hitting but right to them,” Gilroy’s lone senior Alissa Castro said.
Lira and the Lady Mustangs defense worked themselves out of a one-out bases loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth inning to keep a 0-0 tie in tact.
Lindsey Holt fielded a ground ball at first and threw home to Melanie Morelos to get the force for out number two. Lira then robbed the ensuing batter, Christine Meneses, sticking out her glove to snag a sharply hit line drive.
The Firebirds did their damage the following inning, capitalizing on two Lady Mustangs’ miscues to push their runs across.
“We are all different ages, there’s a lot of different groups and different types of people and we all just came together as a team and made it this far,” Castro said. “I think we could have made it farther but there were just minor setbacks that we had. As a senior, it was good to see that everyone wanted it and wanted to play.”
Though their season ended short of their overall goal, the furture looks bright for the Lady Mustangs who will return eight of nine starters next season and all of their role players off the bench.
“They are going to be a really good team next year,” Castro said. “They are going to have so many young girls that have already played together. They know what they can do.”
Gilroy’s battery of Lira and Morelos will be back for their third season together. Holt and Stephanie Rodriguez will anchor the corners of the infield, and second baseman Dani Hemeon, who went 2-for-3 on Wednesday, will also be back for her senior season. The Lady Mustangs have their entire outfield, Michelle Sosa, Casey Lester, who notched first-team all-league recognition as a sophomore this season, and Elaina Vasquez presumably returning next season as well.
