After a three-year absence from holding the championship banner, Concord left no doubt on Friday evening where the title belonged this year, as the Minutemen slugged their way past top seeded Livermore in the North Coast Section Division II championship game, beating the Cowboys 17-1 in a mercy-rule five-inning game.
Concord's offense got things rolling from the very start, scoring seven runs in the top of the first against a shell-shocked Livermore squad.
Aleya Rath and Elena Oceguera started the game with back-to-back singles off Livermore starter Melanie Laronde, and consecutive walks to Amber Desena and Juliana Pichardo drove in the game's first run. After Morgyn Wynne's sacrifice fly to center scored Oceguera for a two-run lead, freshman Lexi San Filippo then cleared the bases with a three-run homer, upping the lead to five runs with only one out in the top of the first.
Freshman Madi Mays re-started the rally with a single, and the bottom two hitters in the lineup - Sarah Clifton and Veronica Castaneda - then followed with walks to once again load the bases. Mays was thrown out at home on Rath's ground ball to second base, but Oceguera delivered a two-run single to complete the damage.
"The key was jumping on them early and giving our pitcher some run support so she could settle in and pitch with confidence," said Concord coach Megan Coddington, who has been at the helm for all four of the program's section titles. "We were patient at the plate, and everyone hit up and down the lineup. We got the clutch hits when we needed them."
Livermore got its only run in the bottom of the first, after Emily Trask drew a walk to lead off the game, and Missy Nunes followed with a second straight free pass. Wynne retired Madison Kahwaty on a fly ball to center field, but then walked Alyssa Ramirez to load the bases. Trask scored on Mikendra Kramar's ground ball to short, which resulted in an out at third base, and Wynne was able to get out of the inning with a strikeout. It was the only run she would allow in the game, retiring the side in order in the final two innings of the game.
"Morgyn pitched very well," Coddington said. "The umpire's strike zone was tiny, and she made the adjustments. Our defense also played smart and got the lead runners out when they could. Our outfield caught all the fly balls that came to them. We told the girls that whichever team hit the best was probably going to win."
Meanwhile, Concord stayed relentless at the plate. After a single run in the top of the second, on a single by Mays following a double from San Filippo, the Minutemen exploded for six more in the top of the third.
The third inning was highlighted by a two-run double from Pichardo and a two-run single from Mays, who finished the game with four RBI. Concord finished its scoring with three more runs in the top of the fourth, as Pichardo and San Filippo also finished the game with four RBI each.
San Filippo ended up reaching base in all of her four at-bats, which included a home run and a double. Rath also had three hits, including a double, at the top of the lineup for the Minutemen. Meanwhile, Wynne allowed just two hits and the one run in the complete game victory in the circle.
"We were a young team, and I am sure we will be hungry to get back to the finals again next season," Coddington said. "I think our freshmen (seven on the roster, including starters San Filippo, Mays, Oceguera, Desena, and Marina Delaluna) were very poised and confident, which was good to see. You never know if it going to be deer in the headlights, or come out to play, and they played extremely well."
The win was not only Concord's fourth overall title, but its fourth this decade, having won titles in 2010, 2012, and 2013. The Minutemen are slated to return seven of their nine starters next season.
