Laila Hernandez roped a walk-off, bases-clearing double to power Santa Barbara High softball to a thrilling 8-7 win over Foothill Tech on Wednesday at home.
Down 7-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Janet Perez led the inning off with a walk. Following a sacrifice bunt from Kelly Meeder, an error by the Foothill Tech defense and an Alina Magdaleno walk, Hernandez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded.
Hernandez knocked a line drive into the left-center field gap and cleared the bases to clinch the win.
Madison Benedict started the game for the Dons and finished off the final three innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out three. Magdaleno tossed the other two innings.
Benedict also ripped a solo homer in the sixth inning to draw Santa Barbara to within two runs and set up Hernandez’s heroics.
“I am very proud of the team, they fought hard until the end,” Dons coach Julie Kittle said. “We were down to 10 players due to injuries and an out-of-town player. I asked a lot of my players today and had them play different positions than they normally do.”