Pitching and defense were the name of the game Tuesday.
Gilroy – Pitching and defense were the name of the game Tuesday.
While Gilroy pitchers Patty Olvera and Melinda Ortiz were keeping Monterey hitters off balance, the Mustang defense was tossing a masterpiece itself.
The combination lifted Gilroy to a 4-0 nonleague win over the Toreadors.
Monterey (3-3) went 21-up, 21-down through seven innings. The only Toreador base-runner was No. 9 hitter Joy Lancaster, who lashed a clean single to center. She was gunned down stealing, however, on a perfect throw from catcher Caitlyn Pierotti to Kylie Herrada at second.
“I am nothing without my defense,” Olvera said after allowing the lone hit and striking out four in five innings. “Our defense is so good. It’s better than last year.”
Olvera said she doesn’t even worry about strikeouts.
“Not with this defense backing me up,” Olvera said. “I have so much confidence in them.”
Outfielders Yolanda Esquivel and Alicia Reese each made diving catches. Lauryn Chris went down on her knees to field a ground ball to get another out. Herrada made plays on two consecutive batters in which she handled a hard hit ball on a short hop first, and then went into the hole to handle another hard grounder.
“They had a beautiful defensive game,” Monterey coach Tuu Sevaaetasi said. “We made contact. They made the plays.”
And Jasmine Perez made contact for the Mustangs (5-1). The sophomore outfielder drove in the first two runs. In the first inning, after singles by Chris and Ashley Serrano, and a wild pitch, Perez delivered a sacrifice fly. In the third, Chris beat out an infield hit, stole second and scored as Perez hit a long double to the center-field fence.
The other two Gilroy runs were unearned. In the fourth inning, Pierotti was safe on an error and stole second. Herrada walked. The runners moved up as Olvera grounded out. Angelica Galindo’s grounder was thrown away as both runners scored.
Chris had two of the Mustangs’ six hits.
“We had some awesome defense,” GHS coach Catherine Hallada said. “They were getting dirty making plays. You can’t ask for more from your defense.
“The pitchers did their job. We’ve got a good combination of two great pitchers. We’re going to take advantage and use both of them to mix things up.”
Former Tri-County Athletic League rival Live Oak is at Gilroy at 3:45pm Thursday.
“We’re excited for Live Oak,” Olvera said. “We can’t wait. They’re still a rival.”
Monterey 000 000 0 – 0 1 3
Gilroy 101 200 x – 4 6 0
Sinkler, Hoag (6) and Lake; Olvera, Ortiz (6) and Pierotti, Balanesi (6). W-Olvera. L-Sinkler. 2B-Perez.
