The softball team delivered a dominant performance against the Castilleja Gators, securing an 18-3 victory in just three innings on Wednesday.
The game opened with a shaky start for M-A’s defense. Sophomore pitcher Gracy Nava struggled with control early on, walking multiple batters and putting Gator runners into scoring positions. A routine ground ball to shortstop allowed Castilleja to score their first run, and soon after, all their bases were loaded. But, Nava soon found her rhythm and struck out the next batter to escape the inning with minimal damage. The Bears entered the bottom of the first trailing 1-0.
Freshman right fielder Eliana Clapp and sophomore third baseman Juliana Pandolfo set the tone with singles to start the inning, and sophomore center fielder Emma Loose followed up with another single that brought Nava home to tie the game at 1-1, leaving runners on first and third.
From there M-A’s offense came alive, stringing together a relentless series of sharp hits and taking full advantage of defensive lapses by the Gators. A miscommunication between Castilleja’s outfielders allowed another M-A runner to score, making it 3-1.
The big blow of the inning came when Nava stepped up to the plate and crushed a triple to clear the bases, extending their lead to 7-1. By the end of the explosive first inning, M-A had firmly established control with an 8-1 advantage.
The Bears’ defense further intensified in the second inning. Nava settled on the mound, striking out batters and forcing two quick outs with clean fielding. The Gators failed to generate any offense, sending the Bears back to bat.
M-A continued to pile on in the bottom of the second, as junior catcher Kylie Cox singled and freshman first baseman Olivia Rodgers smashed a double on consecutive pitches. The Gators took a timeout in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but senior Faith Schubin delivered a well-placed hit to the deep left outfield soon after, sending two more Bears home and widening the gap to 13-1 before Castilleja finally escaped the inning.
In the third inning, the Gators started showing signs of life, with their batter smashing a double and later scoring, making it 13-3. However, the Bears’ defense shut down any other chance of a comeback, forcing a ground out to end the inning.
M-A put the game away in the bottom of the third. Schubin roped a line drive double before a mishap by the Gators allowed another M-A runner to advance. The Bears’ relentless offense was overdominant, helping them steal the game by a mercy rule with a final score of 18-3.
“We were hitting really well this game, which helped us a lot,” Pandolfo said.
“Our focus is our next game against Gunn, we need to get better at not starting off slow in the first inning, and getting out quicker than we have been,” Clapp said.
The team will travel to face the Gunn Titans on Sunday at 11 a.m.
