Traveling nearly four hours away from home and playing in a scorching climate that reached temperatures over 90 degrees, Dos Pueblos was aware of the many obstacles it faced prior to a quarterfinal matchup against fifth seeded La Quinta during the CIF-SS Division 4 softball playoffs.
Despite the overwhelming adversity, the Chargers braced the harsh conditions and battled hard for nearly eight innings of play.
However, with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth, Dos Pueblos suffered a brutal 4-3 defeat to the Blackhawks on Thursday afternoon in La Quinta.
It was difficult for us to travel on Tuesday then turn around on Thursday and go even further to La Quinta,” Chargers coach Jon Uyesaka said. “Our team played great and it was a heartbreaker to see that one slip away.”
The Dos Pueblos defense was stellar throughout, as second baseman Sienna Wagner had 6 put outs and 3 assists on the day. Jade Sinskul had another excellent game behind the plate respectively.
Ariana Cruz ended her season on a high note, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and run scored. Wagner also had a nice day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with two clutch RBI’s.
Chargers ace Madison Pickett had another solid day on the mound, throwing 5 1/3 innings while surrendering three runs on seven hits and striking out three. She was relieved by lefty Gabriela Gandall, who gave up just one run in 2 1/3 innings of work.
Dos Pueblos struck first in the second inning when Cruz drove in Alison Milam to give the Chargers an early 1-0 lead. However, DP left runners in scoring position at second and third.
However, the Blackhawks responded in the bottom of the fourth when first baseman Kiara Mendoz tied the game up at 1-1 with a solo shot to right field.
The Chargers were in prime scoring position in the top of the sixth when Milam was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Pickett. However, the Dos Pueblos pitcher hit a deep drive to center field that caught by La Quinta’s Ilana Valdez for the third out.
During the bottom of the inning, Mia Olvera gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 advantage with a homerun to left field. This was followed by three consecutive singles and another RBI from Mendoz.
“Pickett was getting overheated in the sixth and had started falling behind in the count,” coach Uyesaka noted. “Looking back, I brought in Gabby one hitter too late.”
Trailing 3-1 in the top of the seventh, Cruz and Janet Salas came up with back to back singles to put runners in scoring position for the Chargers. Wagner delivered in the clutch, smacking a two-run single to tie the game at 3-3 and force an extra inning.
In the bottom of eighth, Emilie Cabanyog led off with a double and moved to third after Lauren Robinson grounded out. Yasmin Nix hit a sacrifice fly to right field, which scored Cabanyog and gave La Quinta a 4-3 walk-off victory.
The Blackhawks (23-7 overall) advance to the semifinals of the playoffs and will play second seeded Torrance.
Dos Pueblos (21-8 overall) wraps up another successful season in which they tied for a share of the Channel league title with Buena and reached the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs.
“This year’s senior class really stepped up and guided this program in an excellent direction that we expect from our student athletes,” concluded coach Uyesaka.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Blake DeVine can be reached at bdevine@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.