San Marcos softball erupted for eight runs in the fifth inning to earn a 10-0 mercy-rule win over Leuzinger in the CIF-SS D5 opener on Friday in Santa Barbara.
The Royals will have a quick turnaround for round two, as they are set to take on University High on Saturday in Irvine at 12 p.m.
“We really won that game in our warm-ups. We think we started with great energy, and we started really focused,” San Marcos head coach Emily Dietz said of Friday’s win. “I think it’s huge for us going forward, and we’re excited.
“We are a little jaded from last year, not getting into the playoffs, and this is something we really wanted and we’ve worked for all season… This is the fun stuff right here.”
After San Marcos starter Lucy Dessert worked out of a jam in the top of the first, she helped herself out and opened the scoring with her bat in the bottom half.
Isa Malarkey walked and Reese Large singled to start the rally, and Dessert came through with a run-scoring single to take an early lead. Piper Kittle, the very next batter, then singled up the middle to double the lead to 2-0 heading into the second.
“I think it was a great tone setter. We knew right away that we can get things going and get some runs across,” Dietz said of the fast start.
Dessert shook off a pair of first-inning hits and dominated for the rest of the outing. In fact, the junior did not allow another baserunner for the rest of her outing. She ended the day with six strikeouts and added on a 3-for-3, two-RBI performance at the plate.
“[Dessert did everything that we expected of her today, and everything that she wants to do,” Dietz said. “She really prides herself on being able to dominate at times. The energy and the start of the game is a bit much, but when she settled down, she was totally dominant, able to really hit her spots today and keep them off balance.
“She really helped herself today (at the plate). We really used that, knowing that she’s here to compete.”
Meanwhile, the San Marcos offense cooled off and the 2-0 lead held until the fifth inning when the Royals’ bats caught fire.
Emilia Morales opened the frame with a leadoff single and, following a strikeout, Solana Sandoval belted a two-run homer over the right-center field wall to double the San Marcos lead to 4-0.
“We know that Solana can hit the ball really far, and we know that she was due. It was a great job at staying back on the ball and going with it,” Dietz said.
Sandoval’s big fly opened the floodgates, as Malarkey followed with a walk before back-to-back singles from Large and Dessert made it a 5-0 game.
A Leuzinger error in the field then allowed another run to come across to score, and Sutera Raring drove in one with an RBI sacrifice fly to extend the lead out to 7-0. Caroline Wang kept the rally going with a two-out RBI single on the ensuing at-bat.
Morales then stepped back up to the plate for the second time in the inning and sent the fans home happy, as she slugged a two-run, walk-off homer over the left-center field wall to trigger the mercy rule and give San Marcos a 10-0 win.
“Just top to bottom of our lineup, everyone has the ability to hit the ball hard and make things happen for us,” Dietz said. “Emelia’s been so patient with the ups and downs of her position and starting or not starting… To be awarded in that way is just incredible, so I’m so happy for her.”
While Dessert’s three hits led the team, Large, Wang and Morales all tallied multi-hit performances for the Royals.