The softball team was defeated 10-3 by the Soquel Knights in CCS Division II Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon. Despite strategic defensive innings, M-A ultimately could not keep pace with the Knights on the scoreboard.
The first inning of the game started slow for the Bears. Junior second baseman Juliana Pandolfo was able to hit a single, and subsequently steal second and third. Still, the offense stalled against Soquel’s notorious pitcher and the inning ended after just four hitters.
When the Bears shifted to defense, however, they proved that they would not go down without a fight. This was immediately shown when senior right fielder Elise Koo tracked a fly ball for a first out. Though the next batter fought for a double and scored on a following hit to bring the Knights up 1-0, M-A quickly shut down the inning with no additional runs.
“The entire team is just an amazing team of girls,” Head Coach Marcus Blunt said. “Mostly, I just want to say how proud I am of our seniors, how much we’re going to miss all of them. This team still has a strong core and is going to be successful going forward to at least the next three years.”
As the Bears returned to offense, freshman third baseman Lavietani Taufahema* was hit by the pitch and was able to stay on first until sophomore first baseman Olivia Rodgers hit an amazing triple to bring the score 1-1. Despite this, the momentum was soon crushed by Soquel’s exceptional defense. The Knights reclaimed the scoreboard with an out-of-the-park home run and successful bunting, bringing the score to 3-1.
The action picked up in the third, with junior pitcher Gracy Nava bunting her way to a nail-biting slide-in at first base. Much to the crowd’s dismay, her attempted steal of second was called out. M-A battled against the pitcher yet again and found themselves unsuccessful, and Soquel hit another out-of-the-park home run and brought another runner home to put the total to 5-1. However, the Bears quickly recovered with an amazing double play by Taufahema and Rodgers to end the inning.
The Bears’ offense stalled yet again, with only one batter making it to base in the top of the fourth. As they transitioned to defense, they were met with yet another out-of-the-park home run by the Knights, setting the score at 6-1. Again, M-A was able to recover with an impressive double play by senior catcher Kylie Cox and Pandolfo, shutting runners out at home base and second base, respectively. Nava pitched a strikeout to end the inning with the Bears trailing, 6-1.
Both teams were on fire defensively in the fifth inning. The Bears were shut out after just three hitters, the Knights’ pitcher making it impossible for anyone to land on base. In the bottom of the fifth, Nava pitched well from the circle, and the defense backed her up with flawless execution. M-A had yet another amazing double play with Pandolfo on a tag and Rodgers getting the runner out at first, and freshman left fielder Sophiann Lin caught a fly ball in the outfield to end the inning.
The top of the sixth turned the Bears’ offense around. Runs by senior shortstop Carey Maletis and Cox decreased M-A’s deficit to 6-3. The Bears’ dugouts fought for several calls, challenging a close play at second base and another at the plate, leading to tense and ultimately unsuccessful exchanges with the umpires.
“I have no regrets. We played the best we were going to play, and the other team was really good,” senior right fielder Molly Rosen said. “We had some really bad calls, but we put it all out there.”
Despite M-A’s rapid offensive success, Soquel blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth. With bases loaded several times, the Knights brought the score up 10-3. At the top of the seventh with two outs, Pandolfo singled to keep the Bears’ hope alive, but Soquel managed to secure the final out to close out the game.
The Bears came out behind, falling 10-3 and marking a tough end to the season, but M-A’s fight and elite defensive coordination defined a phenomenal run regardless.
“We definitely have something I feel like a lot of teams lack, and it’s gotten us really far this season. Obviously we’re all really sad, but we’re all here for each other, and I feel like that’s just something that’s really valuable,” Rosen said.
“I have coached over 50 different teams in 15 years. I’ve had volleyball, softball, basketball, and soccer. This is by far my favorite team I’ve ever had in all those years,” Blunt said.
This concludes the season for the Bears, with an overall record of 19-5.
*Lavietani Taufahema is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
