Dos Pueblos softball opened its Channel League season with a bang, rolling to a 10-0 mercy-rule win over Ventura High on Tuesday at Okinaka Field in Goleta.
The Chargers (4-2, 1-0 Channel League) totaled 16 hits as a team and leaned on a complete-game effort from freshman Emiy Morici in the five-inning victory over the Cougars (2-3, 0-1 CL).
“We set a goal at the beginning of the season to finish in first place, and we can’t finish in first if we don’t end in first on the first day,” Dos Pueblos head coach Mike Gerken said. “So, the goal for today was to be in first place at the end of day one, and we accomplished that goal.
“[Ventura] is a very quality team. They finished second last year and have returners. We knew they were going to be tough, and we just jumped on them early.”
After Morici struck out a pair in a scoreless top of the first, the Chargers threatened with two baserunners in the bottom half but left them stranded to keep it at 0-0.
Morici continued to roll in the top of the second with two more strikeouts, and the DP offense woke up in the bottom half with one big swing. The Chargers loaded the bases on a single by junior Brooklyn Hedricks and a pair of walks to bring up Idaho State signee Anastasia Brunner.
After falling into a two-strike count, Brunner got a pitch on the outside corner of the plate and launched it over the left-field wall for an opposite-field grand slam and a 4-0 lead.
“[Brunner] has been in the program for four years and she’s not the same player she was as a freshman,” Gerken said. “I think that home run is plate maturity and awareness, and she’s seen a lot of pitches over the last four years.
“She knows they’re gonna stay away from her… Anastasia knows that that’s gonna happen to her all year, and she works on that pitch. I’ve seen her hit oppo and practice all the time, and it’s not surprising at all that she did it today.”
DP tacked on one more run in the inning as senior Kacey Hurley doubled and was driven in on an RBI groundout by junior Zella Cassidy.
Following a scoreless third, the Chargers extended their lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning when Hurley beat out a throw to home plate on a grounder to second by Hedricks.
Meanwhile, Morici continued to cruise through the Cougar lineup. Her first baserunner allowed came via a walk in the third, and the only Ventura hit of the game was a leadoff single in the fourth. She finished the day with five strikeouts in five shutout innings of work in her Channel League debut.
“We’re really excited to have Emily. She’s a complete softball player,” Gerken said. “She’s a great infielder in addition to a pitcher, great hitter. I think she’s going to have a great future. She gives us an element that we haven’t had in a while, which is a strikeout pitcher.
“It takes a lot of pressure off our defense. They can relax a little bit, and I think we’re seeing that. Our defense is calm and relaxed, and we’re making plays.”
Holding onto a 6-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Chargers needed to plate four runs in the frame to end the game there with a mercy rule. They did just that to seal the league-opening win.
After sophomore Alina Gutierrez led off with a single, Brunner, Hurley, Cassidy and Morici followed with four consecutive RBI extra-base hits to bring four runs home and clinch the victory.
While Morici’s double walked it off, Cassidy provided arguably the biggest blow of the inning with an RBI triple off the right-field wall. Cassidy went 3-for-4 on the day with two RBI and the game-winning run.
“Zella Cassidy hit the ball really hard all day, the opposite way,” Gerken said. “That’s one of those things that she’s been steadily working on.
“We know that’s where pitchers like to live, and Zella likes hitting, so she works on those pitches, and she’s been doing that all season now.”
Meanwhile, Hurley also went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and Hedricks put together a 3-for-3 day at the plate. Brunner ended at 2-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored, and Morici had a pair of hits to go along with her pitching performance.
The first four batters of the Charger lineup (Brunner, Hurley, Cassidy, Morici) combined to go 10-for-16 with nine of the team’s 10 RBIs.
The Chargers and Cougars will meet once again on Friday in Ventura at 3:15 p.m.