MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – For all intents and purposes the loss likely won’t change how St. Francis is seeded for the upcoming CIF Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, however what the 1-0 victory by Valley Christian on Wednesday means for the Warriors is they get to play Archbishop Mitty-San Jose for the West Catholic Athletic League playoff title on Thursday afternoon
The Warriors girls also stamp themselves as one of the teams to beat in the CIFCCS Division III playoffs.
In what for the most part was a pitcher’s duel the real story of the game was Valley Christian sophomore pitcher and slugger Kayla Dominguez.
Valley Christian (17-10) only got three hits off Saint Francis sophomore ace Jordan Schuring, but Dominguez had two of them, both doubles, the second of which came in the top of the sixth inning and drove in fellow sophomore Kacey Zobac for the game’s only run.
From the circle Dominguez pitched a four-hitter (all singles) with three walks and four strikeouts to give her 97 strikeouts this season which is good for No. 3 in the West Catholic Athletic League.
“This was a big game for us and showed we’re capable of playing for a banner,” Dominguez said about beating Saint Francis.
The strike zone was consistent and fair for both teams but it was Dominguez that seemed to find the right spots and pretty much handcuffed the Lancers the entire game.
“I knew I had to keep the ball down but the umpire wanted it up so I was jamming them inside,” Dominguez remarked.
Saint Francis (21-7) got a mere three runners on base from their first five hitters on two walks and a fielder’s choice. Two of their four hits came from freshman third-baseman and No. 9 batter Monet Guido.
Sophomore Andrea Delfino got one of the other Lancers hits and Schuring led off the bottom of the seventh with a single but her pinch runner never advanced, although Delfino came up next and blasted one deep to center field but it was hauled in for the innings first out. From there Dominguez got the next two batters to pop up to shortstop.
“It’s disappointing but they made the swings when they needed to and we didn’t,” said first year Coach Mike Oakland. “We came off a really emotional game against Mitty and the girls let down a little and we didn’t have the same level of focus.”
Still an unbelievable Lancers turnaround
With the loss Saint Francis will not be able to get a three-game sweep of Mitty by winning the WCAL playoff title game, and they won’t be the only team since 2003 to unseat Mitty from having a portion of the league title. With Mitty beating Presentation 7-1 on Wednesday at home that task now falls to Valley Christian.
Mitty had won every regular season title since 2003, but three times, including the last time in 2011 when Valley Christian won the playoff title, the Monarchs were co-champions. If Valley Christian can pull off the upset they will be the co-champions with Saint Francis, otherwise the Mitty streak of getting a share of the title will still be intact.
The Saint Francis players, coaches and fans were visibly disappointed but even with the loss this was one heck of a turnaround for a program that went 0-12 last year in the WCAL to 9-1 this season.
In fact, the Lancers hadn’t even had a winning season in over 10 years. However, all that has changed with Oakland, as he has brought a new approach to go with new uniforms, and a brand new field that also accommodates soccer and lacrosse.
“We always had the talent here but the girls never believed they could win until Coach Oakland took over the program,” said one parent that also coaches softball. “He brought a new attitude and started from scratch.”
When it was announced that Oakland was moving from baseball to softball some folks were scratching their heads, particularly after last year’s Saint Francis team went 26-8 and 11-3 in the WCAL and won the CIFCCS Open Division championship. Plus, since 2006 he had not only been one of the most successful coaches in the WCAL and CIFCCS but in the entire state. In 11 seasons Oakland was not only 273-78-1 but sent multiple players on to major D1 colleges and professional baseball.
The answer for the switch is about family and being a father.
“I have three daughters, a seventh-grader, a third-grader and a first-grader, and the two oldest play softball,” said Oakland, who coaches the seventh-grader as the travel ball coach of the San Jose Nuggets. “The job was open and I figured whoever takes it won’t give it up for a while and I was looking at the possibility of coaching my daughters.”
Oakland has a couple of years before the oldest will play at Saint Francis, but for now it’s the upcoming new CCS Open Division that’s on his mind where his Lancers will still be a very high seed.
“We’ve got to keep our confidence level up and recognize you can’t relax and become satisfied,” Oakland remarked. “We have to get back to where we were and it’s not going to be easy.”
