Gilroy’s sixth-inning comeback just wasn’t enough Wednesday, as
North Salinas scored three runs in the eighth inning to win
4-1.
GILROY – Emily Castro heeded her teammates words and crushed the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Not an easy task considering she was behind the count with two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gilroy, hosting the North Salinas Vikings on a warm Wednesday afternoon, were trailing by just a run.
But with her nerves settled, Castro proved to be cool in the clutch by smacking a double deep over the left fielder’s head, plating Stephanie Rodriguez to tie the game 1-1 and eventually force an extra inning after seven frames.
“I just felt like we really needed that hit and we really needed to come through,” Castro said.
As good as the effort was, it still ended up not being enough. The Vikings roughed up GHS pitcher Sam Parraz – who had only allowed one run and five hits through seven innings – in the eighth when Danielle Shipman hit an RBI-single and Rosa Perez followed with a two-run home run. Shipman then retired all three GHS batters she faced in the bottom half of the frame to give the Vikings a 4-1 victory. For the game, Shipman had 10 strikeouts.
“We did make a really good comeback, I just wish we would’ve done it sooner,” Gilroy coach Catherine Hallada said.
“[Parraz] pitched a great game. They had a few key hits, and key hits score runs.”
North Salinas other big at-bats came in the top of the second, when Rosa Perez hit a triple and came home on a double by Alyssa Ayala.
Jasmine Perez led Gilroy with two hits.
The win keeps the Vikings near the top of the Tri-County Athletic League standings at 2-1.
“Every game is big in the TCAL because every team can be upset,” Vikings coach Greg Sims said. “It’s such a strong, competitive league.”
For that reason, the Mustangs (8-7-1) have good reason to be concerned. The club has dropped three games in a row and now sits in fifth place in the TCAL at 1-2.
“It’s still early in league and I still have confidence next time around we’re going to beat them,” Hallada said.
Castro agreed that the game was winnable while giving the Vikings their due.
“We should’ve beaten them but they are a good team,” Castro said. “We just need to come out stronger. We have the potential.”
