By Caroline Mora
On Tuesday, April 30, the Fountain Valley High School girls’ softball team faced off against the Upland High School Scots in a tense CIF Division 3 wildcard game. After a contentious game, the Scots won 7-6 to advance to the Division 3 playoffs.
Both teams consistently scored points until the bottom of the third inning when the Scots scored a point, putting the Lady Barons behind by one point with a score of four to three.
The crowd lit up at the bottom of the fourth inning when the Lady Barons pulled ahead and scored two more points, reclaiming the lead for a score of six to four. However, Upland hit a home run at the top of the fifth to close the score gap to one.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, senior captain and Boise State University commit Mackenzie Butt, hit an amazing ball but it was caught, resulting in three outs and the end of the sixth inning.
In the top of the seventh inning, senior captain and Wagner College commit Sam Estrada caught a far-flying ball, marking another out for the Scots. Both teams are now tied with a score of six to six.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, senior and Western Oregon State commit Jenna Bixler hit a far ball, but it was caught for another out. After a short-lived seventh inning, the game went into overtime and the two teams faced off in an extra eighth inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, the Scots hit a ground ball, and the Barons’ right fielder missed it under her glove. The next batter up hit a sacrifice fly ball deep into the center field and the runner from third-base scores. This brought the score to six to seven, in Upland’s favor.
In the bottom of the eighth, junior Andrea Maldonado lined out to the center fielder in the left-center gap, with one out remaining. Then, Estrada grounded out to the third baseman, resulting in another out for the Barons. Ultimately, senior Taylor Reynolds struck out for the Barons’ final out, ending the game.
Therefore, the Barons finished their season with a CIF wildcard appearance, following a 12-13 overall record and 7-5 league record for a third-place finish in the Sunset League. They will compete again in the 2024-2025 spring season.
