Sophomore Ella Pearl (30) reaches third base,
standing up, on a booming triple in the bottom
of the seventh inning as Monte Vista third baseman
Alina Rodriguez (20) holds the throw from left field.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
By Ed Piper
Give Monte Vista the credit--the Monarchs delivered hitting throughout their lineup, and freshman pitcher Luanne Castillo sufficiently throttled La Jolla's offense to maintain a lead from the get-go.
But in the Vikings' second straight appearance in the Division 5 Finals Sat., May 30, you always walk away with the "what if''s". What if they hadn't started off the game with a couple of walks to gift Monte Vista with early baserunners? What if the defense had played a little tighter?
In all, it has been quite a run for Coach Anthony Sarain's red-and-black, winning 12 of 13 to get to the title game at UCSD before the big crowd, the immaculate playing surface, the game announcer.
Senior Jacey Taylor, the school's newly-crowned home run record-holder, and sophomore shortstop Ella Pearl have helped lead a unit that has shown plenty of pop in the lineup--also Aviv Laska, the backstop, comes to mind--and savvy on the basepaths and in the field--senior Savannah Putnam, patrolling centerfield, and freshman Ellie Thomson, at third base, come to mind there.
The Monarchs scored four in the top of the first and two in the second, jumping out to a 6-2 lead they would never relinquish. The Vikes seemed a little awed by the bright lights, struggling as Monte Vista continued to spray hits and built leads of 8-2 (after 2 1/2 innings) and 13-4 (3 1/2 innings).
La Jolla faced early elimination under the 10-run mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth, trailing 14-4. Fortunately, they scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to stave off extinction: Laska led off with a double. Senior Maddie Ehlert, already gaining simultaneous college credits and no longer stepping foot on campus as seniors enjoyed the last week out of school, hit a grounder to short and the throw was mishandled at first, allowing Aviv to score.
After the steady Thomson popped out to pitcher Castillo, Melanie Smith, in the seventh spot, lined a single to center. Lily Carnaje drew a rare walk from Luanne Castillo with the bases loaded, forcing in Laska and staving off extinction.
Maddie Quach, the fourth already-graduated senior with Taylor, Putnam, and Ehlert, hit a groundball to shortstop Olivia Mendham, who got the force at second on Carnaje but "Maddie E." scored another run to make it 14-6. Savannah ended the inning with another groundout to shortstop.
With the Monarchs scoring three more runs in the top of the sixth, 17-6, Sarain's minions once again faced the mercy rule, requiring another run to extend the game to seven innings. They did so, by plating a trio of runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Pearl got aboard with a walk. Jacey boomed a double over centerfielder Reena Del Rosario's head in deep left-center, nearly reaching the wall, moving Ella to third. Laska, the catcher, singled to bring in Pearl, placing runners at the corners.
That run knocked out Castillo, Monte Vista's starting pitcher, who lasted five-plus innings. Coach Fili Tavarez did a double-switch, moving Del Rosario, a senior, in from centerfield to pitch and placing Luanne in center. Ehlert popped out to second for the first out.
Thomson grounded to second, but that brought in Taylor, and the Vikings were safe from the 10-run rule at 17-8. With two outs, Melanie Smith, who had to come in and relieve Jacey, who was relieving Ella, in the top of the inning, singled to left. That drove in Aviv, before Carnaje grounded out. 17-9, the final margin.
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