By Tyler Sonderholzer
In the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) Division V quarterfinals, the softball team defeated the San Marino Titans to advance to the CIF semifinals by a score of 5-2.
“I think it went great. I mean, we started a little slow,” head coach Rick Aldrich said. “But you know, this team is an exceptional team, they battle and play with each other.”
Freshman Courtney Kols was the starting pitcher and she gave up a lead-off single to start off the top of the first. However, senior catcher Brooke Bonny threw out the runner when she attempted to steal second. The next batter lined out to third while the last batter of the inning flew out to center to end the top of the first.
In the bottom of the first, the Lady Baron offense started out slow. Sophomores Marissa Sardinas and Kira Velasco both struck out while junior Veronica Moore popped out to shortstop to end the inning.
The top of the second was another quick inning for Kols as she was able to strike out the first and second batters of the inning. She then got the final batter to pop out to the shortstop.
Sophomore Makenzie Butt led off the bottom of the second with a home run to center field to give the Lady Barons a 1-0 lead. Bonny was the next batter and she was hit by the pitch; freshman Andrea Maldonado replaced her on first. Sophomore Taylor Reynolds then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Maldonado to second. Then sophomore Samantha Estrada reached first base on a dropped third strike that went to the backstop while Maldonado advanced to third. Estrada then stole second to put runners on second and third base. However, both sophomores Jenna Bixler and Delaney Mondino struck out to close out the bottom of the second.
The third started out troublesome for Kols as she gave up a lead-off double. The next batter also hit a double which tied the game at one apiece. Kols was able to battle back after the two doubles and got the next two batters to both pop out to first. She then got the third and final out on a ground ball to second.
The bottom of the third was very quiet for the Baron offense as Sardinas struck out, Velasco flew out to right and Moore struck out.
The Titans got a lead-off single to kick off the fourth inning but the next batter popped out to second to get the first out of the inning. During the next at-bat, Kols dropped a pop fly but she was able to throw the lead runner out at second. The final batter of the inning flew out to right.
Butt got her second home run to make it a 2-1 game for the Lady Barons. Bonny was the next batter but she struck out. Reynolds followed it up with a single then was able to steal both second and third base. However, the inning ended on back-to-back strikeouts from Estrada and Bixler.
Kols was able to get another one-two-three inning after getting the lead-off batter to ground out to her and striking out the final two batters of the inning.
The bottom of the fifth started off with Mondino striking out but both Sardinas and Velasco both reached base on singles. While Moore flew out to left, the Titan’s manager decided to intentionally walk Butt to load the bases for Bonny. However, Bonny flew out to left to close out the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Kols gave up a lead-off double. The next batter laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to third. After getting the next batter to fly out to center, Kols gave up another double to tie the game at two. The final batter grounded out to first.
After Reynolds flew out to center, the offense went on a tear as Astrada hit a single and was able to advance to second on a passed ball. Maldonado then hit a single and Astrada was able to score on the play to give the Lady Barons a 3-2 lead. After Mondino struck out, Sardinas hit a pop fly to the pitcher. However, the ball was dropped and she reached first safely with Maldonado scoring, making it 4-2. Velasco then hit a single and Sardinas crossed the plate to expand the lead to 5-2. The inning ended when Velasco tried to steal second but was thrown out.
Kols remained on the mound for the seventh inning but hit the first batter of the inning. However, she was able to storm back and strike out the next batter. She walked the next batter to bring the tying run to the plate but when the batter attempted to bunt, Bonny caught the pop up and threw the runner out at first to get the game-winning double play.
“The most important thing with this group is they play for each other,” Aldrich said. “They’re not a bunch of individuals playing a game, they’re actually a team and it’s special. This is a special team.”
The Lady Barons had five runs on five hits while the Titans had two runs on six hits. Kols pitched a complete game (meaning she pitched all seven innings) with four strikeouts, six hits and four walks.
“I thought it was a great team when we really rallied together and everybody did something to contribute to a win,” Bonny said. “I thought our defense really came in clutch, especially at the end. Our outfielders were able to shut down doubles and triples and hold them to singles.”
The Lady Barons now advance to the CIF-SS semifinals and will play an away game against Cajon High School on May 14 at 3:15 p.m.
