In a game to decide the North Bay League - Redwood regular season championship, St. Vincent de Paul used dominant pitching and timely hitting to blank Ukiah 8-0 to claim the title.
“The girls had been stoked for this game for weeks,” St. Vincent de Paul head coach Morgan Selmi said. “It was nice to come out and shut them down. I told them all that for this game it would be completely different than the last time.”
The Mustangs and the Wildcats were no strangers to each other. This was their third contest of the season, and the series was split going into the afternoon. St. Vincent de Paul took the first game 3-0 on March 29th, but Ukiah bounced back to win game two of the series, 6-5, in extra innings on April 25th.
“We knew that we had a chance to come out in first place,” Wildcats head coach Arianna Bowers said. “We wanted to give it our all, this team has come a long way since the beginning, and I’m proud of them.”
The Mustangs took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a single from junior infielder Kat Cespedes that scored senior pitcher Sophia Skubic.
Skubic asserted her dominance on the mound against a solid Wildcats team. She pitched a seven inning shutout and only gave up three hits and one walk while striking out five batters. She also did not allow a single hit through 5 and two-thirds innings.
“My mindset was just to keep the ball low and not let them hit,” Skubic said. “I trust my defense, and we got it done.”
McKenna Bird was only able to record two outs for Ukiah before being relieved. After giving up a walk, a hit and a run, they turned it over to Julia Maldonado. She allowed seven runs - five of which were earned - and nine hits.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Cespedes smoked a no-doubter over the center field fence to give the Mustangs a 3-0 lead, as well as much needed momentum in a very important game.
“I was feeling the adrenaline, excitement, and a little bit of pressure,” Cespedes said. “Overall, I was just really excited, and the home run felt really nice.”
Later in the inning, senior infielder Maddie Badaglia recorded a two out triple, but the Wildcats quickly got the final out, stranding the runner at third.
Senior catcher Maddy Delamontanya and Cespedes both hit singles to kick off the bottom half of the fifth. Due to an error in the outfield, junior outfielder Sofia Romano reached base and both runners scored, extending the Mustang lead to 5-0. In the very next at bat, Maddie Badaglia recorded an RBI single, making it 6-0. With two outs, junior outfielder Vanessa Rios torched a deep triple, but was thrown out at home.
The top of the sixth saw the first two Ukiah hits of the game, which were both two out singles recorded by Bird and Autumn Walker. However, Skubic struck out the next batter with ease, stranding the two runners.
In the bottom of the sixth, Delamontanya roped a two out double followed by a double from Cespedes, extending the lead to 8-0.
“I really wanted to come out swinging,” Delamontanya said. “I just wanted to do the best that I could, that was my mindset.”
Delamontanya finished her day three of four with two singles and a double. Cespedes also had a perfect game at the plate, as she went four of four and was just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
The Wildcats recorded another hit in the top of the seventh, but it was too little, too late. Skubic retired the final batters.
“I really enjoy playing with these girls, this game was a learning experience,” Ukiah catcher Kali Garcia said. “We can definitely beat this team if we see them again, we beat ourselves today.”
Upcoming for Ukiah, they will see Healdsburg on Thursday to close out their regular season.
As for St. Vincent de Paul, they will also be wrapping up their regular season on Thursday, as they will see Elsie Allen.
“We want to crush it in the playoffs,” Selmi said. “The girls deserve this so much, and I really hope they capitalize on that. This is their year.”
