LIVERMORE, CA – Back and forth they went. Two CIF North Coast Section Division I powers with Falcons mascots treated fans at the Ernie Rodriguez Sports Field to a game that saw four lead changes and two ties in a seven inning contest that ended as one of the highest scoring affairs in the 24-year history of the Livermore Stampede.
In the end Bay Valley Athletic League leader and Prep-2Prep Northern California top-ranked Freedom-Oakley got a one-out walk-off RBI single by Allyson Ferreira that drove in Madison Saunders in bottom of seventh to give Freedom an 8-7 Championship Flight victory over East Bay Athletic League perennial power and P2P NorCal No. 7 Foothill-Pleasanton.
The title-game victory by Freedom (12-0) was delayed two weeks after the tournament committee changed the schedule and started a day early due to rain two weeks ago and pushed out the Championship Flight to last Saturday.
After getting out of several jams earlier in the week when Freedom began league play and overcame deficits in BVAL victories over Heritage-Brentwood and Antioch, Southern Utah-bound Freedom pitcher and slugger Vanessa Strong got roughed up a bit by the big bats of Foothill. After going all the way in an 8:00 a.m. 5-inning timed out 4-2 semifinal victory over Archbishop Mitty, she came back again to pitch all 7-innings.
Strong appeared to look a little tired, and lost a little velocity after retiring the side in the first and second innings, but after a long week of league play and back-to-back games at nearly the crack of dawn, it would be hard not to call her effort almost Herculean.
“It was definitely a challenging week with starting league and playing great competition yesterday,” said Strong, who pitched and batted her way to the Stampede’s Most Valuable Player award. “I could feel myself getting tired, but I knew I had to dig deep in the championship game. I knew that if I could keep it close my offense would have my back. I was honestly just praying for the strength to keep my team in the game.”
In the circle Strong gave up nine hits and all eight runs with one walk and two strikeouts against a Foothill team that can really swing their bats. At the plate she was 2-for-3 with a walk, two doubles and two runs batted in.
It might have been a more interesting contest had Oklahoma-bound Foothill sophomore pitcher Nicole May been in the circle for Foothill, but she hasn’t been pitching recently and was at first base on Saturday. Instead Foothill Coach Matt Sweeney used sophomore Maddie Heilin in two stints around a couple of innings from his JV pitcher.
The stage was set for a slugfest early on when Santa Clara-bound Ferreira hit the first pitch in the bottom of the first for a triple and then was squeezed home by St. Mary’s bound Kalissa Hein for a 1-0 Freedom lead.
Foothill (13-3) tied it in the third on an RBI single by Pittsburg-committed junior Hope Alley, and then took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth when sophomore catcher Courtney Beaudin hit a towering two-run home run to left-center that just cleared the fence.
The lead didn’t last long as Freedom went back in front 5-3 after striking for four runs in the bottom of the fourth with the first of Strong’s two RBI doubles the key hit.
However, just as fast as Freedom took the lead Foothill took it back 6-5 in the top of the fifth with three-run rally where an RBI double Alley was the big hit.
Freedom came right back to tie it again at 6-6 in the bottom of the fifth when Hein scored on a sacrifice fly by Sonoma State-bound Mackenzie Nelson.
After Strong retired the side in order in the top of the sixth it looked like Freedom might blow it open but after Strong doubled home Ferreira they couldn’t add to a 7-6 lead and left the bases loaded.
Strong got the first two Foothill batters in the top of the seventh but then Alley singled and stole second, and scored on a single by Hailey Hayes. May then singled and Strong gave up her one walk that was intentional to Beaudin, and that loaded the bases, but when Lauren Hermes lined to second Foothill had returned the favor and left the bags loaded setting the stage for Ferreira’s heroics.
Ferreira ended up 4-for-5 with a triple, double, an RBI and two runs scored. Besides scoring the winning run Saunders was 2-for-3 with a sacrifice, an RBI and a run scored, Hein was 1-for-2 with a walk, a sacrifice, an RBI and two runs scored, McKenna Marshall was on base all four times and had an RBI on three singles and she was hit by a pitch, Allyson McBroom was 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI and run scored, and freshman Sierra Weishaar had an RBI single and scored a run. All in all Freedom rapped out 14 hits, drew four walks and had the hit batter.
Beaudin had the biggest bat for Foothill after going 2-for-3 with the two-run blast, a walk, three RBI and a run scored, Alley was right behind her with three hits in four at bats with two RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases, and Hayes drove in two.
“They pulled it out when they had to,” said Freedom Coach Brook Russo. “We made a few mistakes but we never threw in the towel. They can be down 4-0 like last week against Antioch, and 3-1 like against Foothill, but they know they can come back.”
Both teams were 4-2 winners in their semifinal victories over Archbishop Mitty and Castro Valley. Hein had the big bat in Freedom's win over Mitty after going 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, two RBI and two runs scored.
Mitty (13-5) was a 5-2 winner over Castro Valley (10-6) in the third place game.
With her selection as MVP Strong joins some legends that have been the Stampede’s top player, like Northern California softball legends Valerie Arioto, Keilani Ricketts and Jolene Henderson, and her own pitching coach and Freedom assistant coach and wife of Russo, former Freedom fire-ball tossing Amanda Williams.
“I’m blessed to have Amanda Williams calling pitches for me,” Strong remarked
“Winning the Stampede is such a huge honor for our team and shows our hard work battling some great competition paid off,” said in conclusion. “I'm also so humbled and honored to be named the 2018 Stampede MVP. It's so humbling to receive the same award as softball greats, Arioto, Rickets, Henderson and Coach Williams.”
