The softball team dismantled the South San Francisco Warriors 17-2 on Wednesday afternoon, winning their first game of league play in a dominant offensive showing.
The Bears went down two runs to start the game on account of a few defensive errors. With two outs and the bases loaded, sophomore pitcher Elise Koo came through with a big strikeout to stop the bleeding.
M-A quickly responded to the Warriors’ first runs in a lengthy barrage of hits that brought 14 runners across the plate.
The Bears’ first at-bat of the day saw freshman Julia Pandolfo secure a base hit and steal second during the subsequent at-bat. Senior captain Dani Koo sent Pandolfo home with a line-drive double to left field, scoring the Bears’ first run of the game. Sophomore catcher Kylie Cox then connected on her first pitch to secure another RBI double.
Following a couple of quick base hits, sophomore Molly Rosen sent a runner home on a deep drive to center field, and sophomore Carey Maletis would later send two more runners home on a towering bases-clearing triple.
With the bases loaded, Dani Koo followed up her first hit with a hard-hit double to left field, bringing the score to 9-2 with just one out in the inning.
Rosen continued the rally with a bases-clearing double, before the Bears’ first inning came to a close, up 14-2 and confidently in the lead.
The Bears continued to impose their will on the game with a quick one-two-three inning, as South San Francisco’s first three batters were quickly sent back to the dugout by pitcher Elise Koo.
The Bears returned to the plate, scoring three more runs thanks to a big hit from Dani Koo.
Back on defense, M-A closed out the game in the third inning, mercy-ruling the Warriors. With the bases loaded yet again, pitcher Elise Koo struck out her final batter on three quick pitches.
Cox praised Elise Koo at the end of the game, “She did a great job coming back from that first inning, which was kind of tough. And I think we all did, you know, it’s easy to get defeated after a hardening like that. But we came out bottom in the first and we were hitting.”
Elise Koo shared her hopes for the rest of the season. “I think it’s an energy booster knowing that we can play teams like this, especially knowing that they’re in our league, so I think we’re getting really focused and trying to keep our intensity for Millbrae on Friday. Which is going to be a big game.”
