SGV/WHITTIER PREP SPORTS ZONE ROUNDUP MAY 20, 2022
IT'S A CLEAN SWEEP!!! Baldwin Park baseball, Bonita and Temple City softball all win CIF Southern Section championships.
SOFTBALL
Division 3
Bonita softball team photo after defeating Tesoro 6-0 in the CIF-SS Div. 3 championship game at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine. (Escarcega)
Bonita 6, Tesoro 0: The narrative all year long has been that Bonita’s success can be attributed to junior standout pitcher Brooklyn Shroyer. Friday, it was the defense that proved to be the difference in a historic win over the Titans.
The Titans were hitting the ball solidly throughout the game. Fortunately for Bearcats fans, the balls were hit to defensive players that were aligned perfectly to make the play. Centerfield Kali Blount had four defensive putouts, including two terrific plays in the fifth inning that prevented a possible big inning from developing.
“Brooklyn is an outstanding pitcher and I’m thankful we are at the point that she can trust us on defense,” Blount said. “It was great to play defense and make some plays.”
The defensive effort turned in by the Bearcats was not lost on Bonita coach Darren Baumunk.
“Brooklyn has been there for every game, and she was even there for us (Friday),” Baumunk said “I know that she trusts our defense and defensively I thought we were very solid. That is something that we take our pride in all season long. Watching them play (live) on Monday was huge and that helped us out a lot.”
As for Shroyer, she threw a complete-game five-hitter and struck out only one batter.
“I thought that I did OK, I made our defensive work a little bit today,” Shroyer said. “(Tesoro) was a good hitting team and I knew that if I didn’t have as many strikeouts that the defense would back me up.”
The Bearcats (27-5-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Alyssa Doucette scored on an error by Tesoro catcher Kennedy Proctor in the first inning. Bonita pushed across two more runs in the bottom of the second inning when Aries Alonzo connected on a double to center field that scored Mireya Rico and Camryn Van Valkenburgh for a 3-0 lead.
Bonita tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning on the strength of a run-scoring single by Sofia Oritz, a triple to center field by Alyssa Doucette that brought in Ortiz, and an error by Titans first baseman Loula Rae-McNamara that scored Doucette.
That was all that Shroyer needed as she retired the last eight hitters in a row to preserve the historic win.
“We all get along so well and it makes it so much better,” Shroyer said. “We hang out after practice and after school and we get along so well.”
Division 4
Temple City softball post game team photo after defeating Moorpark, 4-2, to win the CIF-SS Div. 4 championship. (Photo: Temple City HS Softball)
Temple City 4, Moorpark 2: All year long, Temple City pitcher Kassandra Gewecke answered the call for Temple City fans with a fierce competitive fire that was only matched by her wizardry in the circle. Friday afternoon at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine, the right-handed hurler turned in her most important performance of the season.
The sophomore improved her record to 19-1 as she limited the top-seeded Musketeers to two runs on seven hits and struck out six in a complete-game performance. As for the much-anticipated pitching matchup against Moorpark’s Maddie Finnerty, who had pitched a perfect game in Tuesday’s semifinal win over Heritage Christian, it never materialized.
Finnerty only pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and struck out three. She had trouble locating the strike zone in the second inning and was pulled after walking Samantha Womack with the bases loaded. Torrey Cook replaced Finnerty and struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings of relief work.
“This is unreal and feels great,” Gewecke said. “I like to focus on my game and what I have to do in the circle and that is all I can control. This was our best game of the year.”
The walk to Womack capped off a three-run inning after Moorpark jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Gewecke’s run-scoring single to center field and Giselle Sasaki’s double to left that brought in Mya Arias-Gonzalez, gave the Rams a 2-1 lead.
The biggest hit of the game came in the fifth inning when Mikala Sanchez, who had just missed hitting a home run in the first inning, hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning that gave the Rams a 4-1 lead.
Moorpark mounted a rally in the top of the sixth inning when Caitlin Finnerty’s single to left field drove in Dri Martinez cutting the Rams' lead to 4-2. Gewecke buckled down and struck out Sydney Burckhard and induced Makenna Cerny to pop out to Sanchez at first base to end the threat.
“They threatened a few times but Kassandra steps up and throws her best to their best hitters,” Temple City coach Eric Arreola said. “We made a lot of plays defensively and we had some timely hits - things went alright (Friday).”
Facing the top of the lineup in the top of the seventh inning, Gewecke retired the side in order and preserved the Rams’ first CIF Southern Section softball championship.
“I’m happy for the girls, they took me for the ride,” Arreola said. “They are the ones that did all the work, put in all the practice, the poles, the fielding, the baserunning. I knew last year that we had a special team, and I was excited about this year.”
Temple City will have the next week off and prepare for the CIF State SoCal Regional that begins in two weeks.
BASEBALL
Baldwin Park 4, Hueneme 2: In one of the more thrilling games that Baldwin Park has been involved with this year, the Braves broke a 2-2 tie by scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning that propelled them to their first CIF Southern Section baseball title since 1982.
The record books will show that it was Isaiah Ariza’s sacrifice fly to left field that scored Jason Martinez with the historic run that proved to be the difference. The Braves tacked on an insurance run when Tommy Villanueva banged a single to left field that scored Gus Melero.
Villanueva, a junior, usually pitches on Tuesdays. However, he got the nod for the historic game and more than held his own. He allowed two runs on four hits and struck out five in 4 1/3 innings of work. Martinez relieved Villanueva and was a throne to the Hueneme hitters. He pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief pitching, allowing two hits and fanning five to pick up the win and improve his record to 3-2.
The Braves jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Christian Escamilla singled on the first pitch of the at-bat that scored Davis. The Braves pushed across another run in the fourth inning when Damien Andrade scored Chrisitan Escamilla on a ground out. The Braves relinquished the lead when Hueneme scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.
The Braves will have the week off before resuming action in the CIF State SoCal Regional baseball next Tuesday.
