Streak ends, but Bulldogs still having a 'blast'
| Wednesday, May 06 2009 11:33 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, May 06 2009 11:33 PM
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Casey Christie / The Californian Golden Valley pitcher, Julie Estep whirls one to a Liberty High batter during Wednesday's afternoon game at Golden Valley.
Casey Christie / The Californian Golden Valley High first baseman, Karla Cachu, lets her teammates know there are two outs during a game Wednesday against Liberty High.
Casey Christie / The Californian Golden Valley's Tiffany Sellers keeps an eye on the game Wednesday while her undefeated team plays against Liberty High.
In a display fitting of the Southeast Yosemite League softball race, Golden Valley and Liberty ended up essentially tied for the league lead after the Patriots outlasted the Bulldogs 4-2 on Wednesday at GVHS.
But the real story has been what came before the latest showdown in a wide-open league.
Without a dominant starting pitcher among the SEYL's seven teams, games are often offensive-minded and -- you got it, Yogi -- they ain't over till they're over.
"We knew there were going to be some hard-fought games going in," said Liberty coach Henry Arias, whose team improved to 8-1 in league play after striking for two opportunistic runs in the sixth inning of a tie game.
Though Liberty and Garces (6-2 SEYL entering Wednesday) have battled at the top of the standings for years, Golden Valley (23-6, 9-1 SEYL) is a relative newcomer to the group. The Bulldogs came in from the South Sequoia League with a losing record in 2007 and eked out a 7-5 SEYL record.
The Bulldogs made that 9-3 last year with a seven-game winning streak to close the season, including wins against Garces and Liberty. This year, they ran the league winning streak to 16 before Wednesday's loss.
"It's been a real blast," Golden Valley coach Cathy Karr said. "We got a little tight (Wednesday), but it's all right. I knew we'd be very competitive, but to be honest with you, I didn't really know what to expect."
Karr has been the team's coach since Day 1, when GVHS had JV-only programs in 2003. Since then, she's gotten an influx of club softball players and slowly changed the attitude of the program.
"Last year, we started off bad and got better. It's been really, really fun," said senior shortstop Cynthia Santiago, who evidenced that with two smashing collisions at second base Wednesday. "I get excited when I play. And we're always up."
The Bulldogs lost to Kern Valley early this season, a loss that Karr said re-focused many of her players.
"We ended up winning the Wasco tournament, and it went on from there," she said. "It just went on before."
At the center of the emergence has been Julie Estep, a junior pitcher who leads the county in strikeouts with 228 and who Karr says is far and away the best the school has ever had.
"It's so hard for pitchers" Karr said. "We don't have a lot of pitchers in this area. Dads, get your girls out there and have 'em pitch, because we've had one true pitcher in the six years I've been here. And pitching is the name of this game."
Estep was good Wednesday, striking out 10 against the Patriots' dangerous lineup and at one point retiring 13 of 14 batters -- with the only exception a wild pitch on a strikeout.
But Liberty scratched across two runs both times it mounted a threat, in the first and the sixth, with the help of some Golden Valley defensive miscues.
On the other end, Dani Hockett mostly shut down a hard-hitting Golden Valley offense after Dominique Lopez opened the bottom of the first with a rocket that hit the lip of outfield grass, spun past the left fielder and into the corner for an inside-the-park home run.
But Hockett worked around many other jams to keep her team in it with the aid of a great defense.
"Our defense has done really well this year," Bell said. "Everyone makes plays and even makes plays you don't think they're going to make."
Liberty, the Division I Central Section champion three seasons ago, is trying to get back there with a young team built around Bell, a three-time Californian All-Area player who will play for Penn State next year.
"Our team knows how to play in these games," Arias said. "We've played in them before, and we're ready for them."
And so the beat goes on: The Southeast Yosemite League has another softball free-for-all. Garces plays both teams next week, so expect a couple more entertaining games. After that, all three teams -- Liberty in Division I, Garces in D-II and Golden Valley in D-III -- will be legitmate playoff threats.
"Anybody can beat anybody, and there's still a lot of softball to be played," Arias said.
