GILROY—Gavilan’s stellar season came to an abrupt end Sunday.
The Coast Conference-South Champion Rams made a first round exit after losing two straight to the No.12 seed Ohlone College in the CCCAA Regional Playoffs.
Though Game 1 wasn’t pretty—a 10-2 final—the second meeting was a battle. The Rams lost 9-7, but not without a fight.
Gavilan came fired up right out of the gate as Priscilla Orona led off with a single. Adrianna Ortega bunted her to second and Mari Rodriguez followed up with a basehit. With two on and two out, Paige Miguel hit a hard ball to first base which ricocheted to score the two run and put Gavilan ahead 2-0. Ohlone (who were the home team) answered back with four runs in the bottom of the inning and another in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-2 lead.
Tori Lobato got things started for the Rams in the top of the sixth with a basehit. Olivia Barajas came in as the runner and quickly stole second. Angelica Carillo put Barajas and herself in scoring position with a single and a quick steal of second. Kari Bittle brought both of them home with a basehit, but was thrown out when advancing to second. Samantha Ribiero kept the inning alive with a double to left centerfield before advancing to third on a passed ball. She came home off an Orona sac fly to score the equalizer.
The tie was shortlived, however, as Ohlone scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to grab a 9-5 lead. Gavilan scored two more in the top of the seventh when Lobato hit a single and was able to score off an RBI double by Kayla Medrano. Medrano came off as the ball was thrown into the third base dugout, but that was all the Rams were able to muster up.
“We had them on their toes—they were nervous,” Gavilan coach Nikki Dequin said. “If we could’ve held them when we had tied them, I truly believe that we would’ve won that game.”
Miguel got the start, allowing five runs—one earned—on five hits through four and two thirds innings. She walked two and struck out one. Lobato came in for relief, allowing four runs on four hits through an inning and a third. She also walked two batters.
Gavilan finishes the season with a 26-11 overall record, 12-4 in conference play. The No. 5 seeded Rams won the first conference title in 30 years win a 1-0 at Cabrillo on April 22.
“This group of young ladies has incrediable team chemistry and that’s what has helped them get so far,” Dequin said. “They worked hard and they were really students of the game which helped them get as far as they did. We had total buy-in from everybody.”
