GILROY—Thursday’s game between Notre Dame-Salinas and Gilroy was much closer than the score shows.
The Mustangs and Spirits were neck and neck before the visitors finally broke the game open with a four-run seventh inning to win 5-1 at Gilroy High.
“We were so close up until that last inning. Mentally, I don’t know if we were ready,” Gilroy coach Julie Berggren said noting the students are on spring break this week.
It was a mixed bag for the Mustangs as they showed flashes of brilliance on defense, but also racked up six errors in the game. Only one of those proved costly, however. The Spirits left six runners in scoring position—four on third base—in the game as Gilroy ace Lauren Castro got ND to hit grounders and fly balls.
But not all the outs came easily.
Adrianna Figone snagged a ball at third in the top of the third and Nicole Dan hung with a line drive in the sixth to keep the Spirits at bay. Castro knocked several balls in the circle to keep the Mustangs in the game.
“We deserved to win this game,” centerfielder Maddy Cox said. “We’re trying to really help our pitcher out. We all have each other’s back, we’re all trying to help each other out.”
Heading into the bottom of the seventh, Alexis Conlon told Cox she would hit a home run. Conlon turned out to be a psychic as Cox hit a rocket over the fence in centerfield for Gilroy’s lone run.
Cox led the Mustangs, going 2 for 3 at the plate. Liezl Clark, Castro, Figone and Adrianna Lujan each had a hit for Gilroy.
Notre Dame got on the board in the top of the fifth. Sarah Muzik reached on an error and was brought home when Marisa Given doubled two plays later.
Given doubled again in the top of the seventh to kick off the Spirits’ rally. An error allowed Brittany Plasencia to reach first and put runners on the corners for ND. Lauren Pullara singled, driving in Given to put the Spirits up 2-0.
Aly Gomonet then doubled to right-centerfield, allowing Plasencia to score and putting two Spirits in scoring position. Spencer Hyosaka hit a two-RBI single, scoring Gomonet and Rachel Reimal—running for Pullara—for ND’s final runs.
Hyosaka led the Spirits with a 3 for 4 performance, which included two RBIs. Muzik and Given both went 2 for 4 at the plate with a run a piece. Given also had an RBI and Muzik stole a base.
Though Gilroy is 1-3 in league, it still has eight league games left and is well in the hunt for the postseason. The Mustangs will continue league play against Monterey at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at home.
“I’m confident in this team,” Berggren said. “We’ve got a hard road ahead of us, but we’ve got eight league games left. It’s definitely still wide open.”
