Softball heads to CIF championships

Elizabeth MebaneStaff WriterIn a tense 11-inning stand off, softball edged out Dos Pueblos Tues., May 28 and earned its place in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) finals game, where it will face Hemet High School on Sat., June 1 in Irvine.In the first round of CIF, the two teams were well-matched. Both the Vikings and the Hesperia High School Scorpions didn’t hit any runs until the sixth inning. Hesperia gained a lead by hitting two runs in the sixth inning. Samo pushed hard in the sixth inning and hit two runs as well, by catcher Annie Quine (’15) and center field Rachel Paris (’13). In the seventh and final inning, the Vikings pushed themselves even further by not allowing Hesperia to hit any runs and making one final, victorious walk-off run by Julie Munoz (’13) to win the game 3-2.According to Quine, it was vital for her and Whitney Jones (’15) to gain the control of the game.“Whitney and I really had to focus in, not let the other team take advantage of us and capitalize on their lead,” Quine said. “It was very important for Skaggs, Whitney and I to work as one team and have a game plan on how to stop the other team’s hitting streak. Luckily, Whitney executed perfectly, our defense backed her up and we were able to keep more runs from [being] scored.”The narrow victory reminded the team of the need for consistency.“I think we definitely had a rocky start,” Quine said. “We were extremely pumped before the game and came out strong in the first inning of defense, [but] unfortunately our offense had a slow start.”Captain Jennifer Eyler (’13) also identified the need for the high levels of intensity from the beginning.“We need to get the jump early on and play hard the entire game,” Eyler said. “It’s not as easy to come out and play a team you don’t know much about so you have to play hard from the beginning because you never know what could happen.”In the second round of CIF against Segerstrom, the girls played a similar game to the first round by being down 2-0, but then coming back for their victory of 7-2. Sara Garcia (’14) hit a home run over the right center field fence, tying up the game and boosting the girls’ spirits.According Paris, the game began with heart and enthusiasm.“Everybody was on the fence screaming from the start and we had a ton of energy,” Paris said. “After going down 2-0, we rebounded with even more energy and cheered even louder. This cheering got in the other team’s head, so they started making errors.”Paris also credits hitter Garcia in helping the girls maintain their fierceness in the face of Segerstrom’s better batting record and a pitcher with over 200 strike-outs.Garcia couldn’t be prouder of her team. She believes they always kept a positive attitude by cheering for one another.“My team played amazing,” Garcia said. “We never got down on one another, even when we were losing. It was by far the best group effort and best game that we have played all season.”In the third round of CIF against Paloma Valley, with the final score of 7-1, the defense played tight, preventing the opponents from scoring until the last inning. Furthermore Garcia set the tone of this round by hitting a home run on Samo’s first hit of the game.Coach Debbie Skaggs was proud of her girls and believes there was a great team effort overall.“They came out on fire, hitting the ball [the way] we’ve been working on,” Skaggs said. “Sara Garcia had the game of her life. I think she’s four for four and just made some spectacular plays.”Samo scored five runs in the first inning, leaving the other team lost and frantic.“Our hitters are seeing the ball really well right now and we’re playing great defense,” Skaggs said. “In CIF, it’s the team who’s got the momentum [that will win].”In the fourth round of CIF, semi-finals, the girls gave it their all by battling Dos Pueblos High School for 11 innings to overcome the tie of 2-2 and see the victorious score of 3-2.According to pinch hitter Frankie Golick (’14), the girls never let up and only pushed harder for the victory they deserved, keeping their history with Dos Pueblos in mind.“We just never stopped,” Golick said. “Last year we had played them at their home and lost a rough game. But this year we came back as a new team.”Golick has nothing but motivation for her team going into the CIF championship game for the first time since 2010.“If we win, we’re going to shock everybody, including ourselves,” Golick said. “When we win, there will be no looking back because we did it as team and every single person did something to help. No individuals, just one family coming together with one goal.”Tickets for the CIF championship game will be $9 for general admission and $5 for students with their ID. Finals will take place at the Deanna Manning Stadium at 12:30 p.m..emebane@thesamohi.com