Dos Pueblos softball scored in every inning on the way to a 12-2 mercy-rule win over crosstown rival San Marcos on Wednesday at Okinaka Field in Goleta.
With the victory, the Chargers (10-9, 8-2 Channel League) completed the season sweep of the Royals (6-11, 2-7 CL) and remained in second place in the league standings behind undefeated Oxnard. Dos Pueblos will face off against Oxnard in a two-game set next week.
“We’ve just kind of been locked in offensively and people are focused at the plate, and it really showed today,” Dos Pueblos head coach Mike Gerken said. “We have a big order ahead of us against Oxnard next week, and that will probably determine the league champion.
“We also have to beat a very good Ventura team at the end of the season, but right now we’re looking for Oxnard and hoping to jump up in the standings.”
As for the Royals, they have one game against Ventura on Friday and two series left against two teams below them in the standings in Buena and Santa Barbara High. They need to win out while Ventura loses out for a shot at the playoffs.
“We’re flushing this game and moving forward,” San Marcos head coach Emily Dietz said. “I know we’re going to have good series against Santa Barbara and Buena, they should be fun series.
“I have confidence that we’re going to go out fighting for sure… It’s a tough league and we started off with the toughest competition. I feel confident that it’s prepared us for this part of the season, but it’s going to take everything we have for sure.”
After a scoreless top half of the first from Dos Pueblos starter Kaitlyn Ashby, the Charger offense went to work in the bottom half.
Zella Cassidy opened the scoring by roping an RBI single into right field to score Anastasia Brunner, who walked to lead off the inning.
Ashby then helped herself with a run-scoring single that brought home Cassidy and gave Dos Pueblos an early 2-0 lead.
The Royals cut that lead in half in the top of the second when Lucy Dessert drove home Jess Vega, who singled earlier in the frame.
The Chargers continued to find success offensively in the bottom of the second, plating four runs thanks to a pair of base hits and two defensive miscues.
The biggest swing came on a two-run single into right field off the bat of Kacey Hurley. Cassidy then drove in a run on a groundout and Hurley came in to score on a wild pitch to expand the lead to 6-1.
“[Hurley] is super valuable just because of the competitiveness she brings into the batter’s box,” Gerken said. “She kind of has this sense of when she needs to deliver and it’s always when people are on the bases.”
Kayla Aguilar trimmed the deficit down to 6-2 in the top of the third when she blasted a solo homer over the left-field wall to give life to the San Marcos offense.
“I think Kayla had an all-around great game today,” Dietz said. “It’s tough as a senior having her last chances against DP and wanting to beat them really badly in a game like this.
“I think she did a great job at answering and trying to keep some light in the game for us.”
Dos Pueblos once again answered in the bottom half as Anna Gray, who signed her letter of intent to play at Smith College earlier in the day, slugged a solo homer to right-center field to make it 7-2.
“Anna has been working very hard after practice and she got a pitch to handle and she handled it. It was pretty cool,” Gerken said.
Juliana Brunner took over in the top of the fourth and dealt a scoreless frame to begin her outing. Then, in the bottom half of the fourth, the Chargers blew the game wide open with a pair of big home run swings.
After Anastasia Brunner walked to begin the inning, Hurley roped a two-run homer over the left field wall for her third and fourth RBI of the game.
Ashby singled and Brooklyn Hedricks reached on an error to set the stage for Juliana Brunner, who unloaded on a three-run, line-drive homer to center field to balloon the lead to 12-2.
“It’s really gratifying to see [Juliana Brunner] be successful at the plate because she’s been sort of a hard-luck hitter,” Gerken said.
“She’s squared up so many balls this year just right at people with nothing to show for it, so for her to get that first single and follow it up with a home run was really cool… She got some pay-off for all the hard work.”
Juliana Brunner then came right back into the circle and set the Royals down scoreless to finish off the mercy-rule victory in five innings.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to tip your cap to DP,” Dietz said. “They kind of punched us in the face there and we couldn’t find our footing after that.
“We can’t have these lapses that we’ve been having, whether that’s on defense or stretches on offense where we kind of go silent… We have to reflect, dig deep and decide together as players how we want this season to end.”
Hurley, Ashby, Gray and Juliana Brunner all had two hits to lead the Chargers while Aguilar provided the lone two-hit performance for the Royals.