SAN JOSE — After surrendering eight straight runs to Leland, to only hold a narrow one-run lead in the bottom of the final inning, Santa Teresa junior Karisa Cortez was looking to win the game. With two outs and two strikes at bat, the bases were loaded for Leland when Cortez threw her final pitch of the game, which was hit by Leland sophomore Bella Calvert, and went flying into the first baseman’s hands, winning the game for Santa Teresa, 12-11 over the Chargers.
The two team’s offenses were relatively quiet in the first two innings, scoring no runs in the opening. However, in the third inning with two outs with two strikes, junior Alexis Kaiser hit a RBI double to take a 2-0 lead and subsequently lit a spark for the Santa Teresa offense. Santa Teresa proceeded to score six more runs in the inning, including a three-run homer by senior Taylor Siri, all with two outs to take a 7-0 lead over Leland. Leland senior Hannah Angileri responded with a three-run homer of her own to cut her team’s deficit to four runs as they trailed 7-3 at the end of the third inning.
In the fifth inning, with two outs, both Siri and junior Talia Garcia hit RBI doubles to increase their team’s lead to 9-3. An RBI single hit by Kaiser and a RBI double hit by Siri in the top of the sixth inning to take a 12-3 lead seemed to lock up the win for Santa Teresa, but Leland came storming back into the game in the bottom of the inning.
Leland senior Grace Ramey started the Leland comeback attempt with a two-run double, and then Angileri followed it up with a RBI single to cut Santa Teresa’s lead down to 12-6. Leland junior Riley Ruiz then helped score two more runs, with her double to cause discomfort for Santa Teresa, as the Saints only possessed a 12-8 lead at this point. A pair of RBI singles hit by senior Nicole Tom and Calvert cut Santa Teresa’s lead down to 12-10 at the end of the sixth inning.
Tagging Santa Teresa out right before reaching home plate caused Leland to possess all the momentum heading into the bottom of the final inning. Angileri hit a RBI single to score Leland’s eighth straight run to only trail by one, but a fast final pitch by Cortez ended the game with the bases loaded for Leland and two outs.
After the loss, Leland head coach Mark Espinoza emphasized the need for improvement on defense.
“This is only our second league game, so we have a lot coming up. We can play everybody again, so we have plenty of time. Everybody is 1-1 and only has a one game lead,” Espinoza said. “We need to improve on defense, which has let us down a little bit. Our hitting is there. We scored 35 runs in three games, and we have only won one game. We need to minimize the defensive mistakes.”
However, Angileri and junior Elina Ortiz were optimistic despite the tough loss.
“This is only our second game, so it does not really affect anything. Hopefully we can come back and be eligible for CCS,” Angileri said. “We need to improve on defense. Making plays when needed be, and limiting our mistakes. We just want to win CCS.”
“We just need to keep playing hard. It is all you can do,” Ortiz said. “We need to focus on having fun rather than overthinking the game.”
Despite almost blowing a nine run lead, the Santa Teresa side of the field remained positive after its win.
“The best thing is seeing the team as a whole. Even though they were up by nine runs and started giving up a few runs, they battled back together, played together, and came out with the win. They showed a lot of poise,” Santa Teresa coach John Ambrost said. “The main thing we need to improve on is adapting to more what the umpire gives us. When the strike zone gets tight like that, we have to make sure that we are getting good pitches and making good plays defensively. We need to keep getting on a roll. Keep hitting the ball hard, making sure we are playing defensively smart, and finding a way to win. It is about winning games right now, and especially league games like this.”
Santa Teresa will look forward to continue their undefeated league season at Live Oak, while Leland will try to bring their last two hot innings over at Leigh.
