By Shayan Abbasi
On Feb. 14, Fountain Valley softball took on Aliso Niguel High School in an exciting season opener. The two teams went back and forth, culminating in a combined score of 13 runs by both teams during the final two innings. Though the Barons lost 8-19, the team showed great promise and fought hard throughout all six innings.
The game commenced with Aliso Niguel starting at bat. With the game off to a quick start, the Wolverines were able to hit a ground ball, allowing their batter to reach first base. Following a long ball out to center field, the runner rounded the plates and reached home safely to score the first run of the game. Sophomore pitcher Courtney Kols was able to strike out the next batter, allowing Fountain Valley to take their first at-bat of the game.
Junior Kira Velasco started off the batting order, hitting a ball out to center field and reaching first base safely. Following this, junior Marissa Sardinas bunted, allowing Velasco to reach second base. In a big play, senior Veronica Moore hit a long ball out to center left field, after which Velasco rounded home, scoring Fountain Valley’s first run of the game. Junior Jenna Bixler also hit the ball out to center left field, a long ball about 180 feet, which allowed Moore to reach home safely, doubling the Barons’ lead.
The second inning started with Aliso Niguel equalizing early, as a long ball out to center right field allowed for the Wolverine runner to slide into home. Aliso added two more runs onto their lead with a series of long balls out to left field, allowing two runners to reach home. Though junior Rylee Jimenez and Velasco were both walked by the pitcher, the Barons could not break through in the second inning.
Heading into the third inning, Fountain Valley was down 2-4. Kols threw a series of fastball pitches and striked out a batter, but Aliso Niguel’s batting was on a hot streak. The Wolverines scored two runs off a long ball out to far left, allowing two runners on base to reach home safely. However, Fountain Valley kept pushing back as Moore hit a home run over center field, reducing the deficit to 3-6.
The fourth inning commenced as Aliso Niguel hit a ground ball, followed by a long ball out to right field, allowing two runners to reach home. Though Fountain Valley was able to get a third out by throwing to first base, the score was now 3-8 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. The Barons hit several deep balls out to right field, followed by a ground ball that allowed junior Taylor Reynolds to reach second base. However, Aliso got a double out, ending Fountain Valley’s at bat.
The Barons surged back in the fifth inning. After Aliso Niguel scored two more runs, Fountain Valley retaliated with a double play where they got two runners out. Playing on two outs, the Barons made a series of clutch plays to get back in the game. Junior Makenzie Butt hit a ground ball out to center left and reached first base, which allowed Sardinas to make a play for third. When the Aliso pitcher walked Bixler, the bases were now loaded with freshman Kileigh Villalobos heading to the plate. After four hits called as foul balls, Villalobos hit a grand slam home run to bring Fountain Valley home within three runs. On the next at-bat, Reynolds hit a ground ball caught by the Aliso infield, but her speed allowed her to slide for first. After Jimenez hit a deep ball out to center, Reynolds reached home safely, completing the score 8-10.
Nonetheless, Aliso Niguel came out strong in the final inning. Through a series of runners reaching home, batters being walked, and a home run, Aliso scored nine runs in the sixth inning. While Fountain Valley made some defensive plays, the Wolverines’ offense proved too compelling. The Barons could not score any runs in their final at-bat, ending the game 8-19.
“We were hoping to win, and our expectations were not to play the way we played today,” head coach Rick Aldrich said. “They never quit. We made some errors that we normally don’t make and I know that’ll get better.”
Fountain Valley’s next game is at home against Godinez Fundamental on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.
