Mustangs make room for 14th title
| Thursday, May 07 2009 11:16 PM
Last Updated Thursday, May 07 2009 11:16 PM
They're starting to run out of room for championship banners on the outfield fence at the Stockdale High softball field.
But even with 13 circular placards already running from the left foul pole to right-centerfield, the Mustangs will have just the spot for their 14th league title after rallying past Centennial for a 3-2 victory Thursday in a showdown for the Southwest Yosemite League crown at Stockdale.
"We'll just have to move them all over," joked first-year Stockdale coach Amanda Hockett.
With just two games left in SEYL play, Stockdale (17-7-1, 9-1) clinched at least a share of the SEYL title, moving two games ahead of the second-place Golden Hawks (22-5-1, 8-3).
"That was a very nice win," Hockett said. "I just think it was the determination of our team, clutch hitting and aggressive base running put us in a better place to score."
With Ensley Gammel on the mound and a 2-0 lead in the fifth, Centennial had to like its chances. But a walk, a stolen base, a passed ball an a couple of defensive miscues allowed the Mustangs to knot the score and setup a dramatic finish.
After pinch hitter Shelbe Pennel walked, pinch runner Breanna Bailey stole second and eventually moved to third on a ground out by Megan Reed. Ilyssa Espiritu followed with a solid single to left for the game-winner. Espiritu finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a run scored and a stolen base.
"It felt so good to come back from behind," Espiritu said. "I knew we had runners on base so I had to hit it real hard. I just waited for that meat pitch and I just went for it."
The Golden Hawks capitalized on three Stockdale errors to score two runs in the third and had a chance to push across the go-ahead run their half of the seventh. Centennial had runners on first and second with one out, but Stockdale starter Justine Vela worked out of trouble to give her team a chance to win it.
"My pitcher kept us in the game; she didn't have her best game," Hockett said. "But we capitalized on a couple of mistakes by them and (we got) timely hitting."
