Oxnard finally put a stop to the madness.
It was the bottom of the 11th inning in an all-county CIF-Southern Section Division 4 softball quarterfinal on Wednesday, May 20, at Ventura College, when Yellowjackets second baseman Layla Mukul, shortstop Kayla Lorona and first baseman Shyanne Saxton delivered the final three outs at first base to clinch a 5-4 victory over St. Bonaventure.
With the win over the defending CIF-SS Division 5 champion, Oxnard (15-10-1) advanced to the Division 4 semifinals and will face Monrovia (21-9-1) on the road Saturday.
“They had my back in every play, every inning,” Oxnard ace Destinee Herrera said. “We were getting unlucky with two outs and them getting hits, but my team just never gave up. I never gave up.”
Herrera threw 147 pitches in the game, 112 for strikes, while facing 48 batters in the 11-inning marathon. She allowed no earned runs and struck out nine.
The sophomore also made her mark on offense, driving in Oxnard’s fifth and final run, smashing one off the centerfield fence to score Lorona in the top of the 11th.
“We knew she was ready,” Oxnard head coach Paul Tinoco said of Herrera. “We just had to play ‘D’ for her. She needed this — it is only going to build her confidence, knowing her team has her back.”
Former St. Bonaventure star Rachel Godoy reached base six times for Oxnard, going 4 for 4 with a double and two intentional walks. Shyanne Saxton was 3 for 5 and Mukul finished 3 for 6.
Maci Schotten was 4 for 6 with two runs scored for St. Bonaventure, which was limited to eight hits and no extra-base hits.
Herrera and her teammates quieted St. Bonaventure bats which had averaged nearly 10 runs per game and scored 23 total runs in their first two playoff games.
“Their pitcher, what an amazing young lady to stop this type of hitting team, to keep us at bay like this,” St. Bonaventure head coach Andy Gibson said.
Oxnard took the lead, then St. Bonaventure equalized three separate times as the momentum pinballed back and forth between the two teams.
St. Bonaventure extended the game with a two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth, when Martinez reached on an error and Hudson Ortiz reached on an infield single to set up Audrina Tinoco’s game-tying RBI single to right field.
“They are experienced,” Paul Tinoco said. “They are coming back off of a CIF championship last year, so they know how to win. They were just as ready as we were.”
Oxnard took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Godoy delivered an RBI single and scored on a wild pitch.
Schotten tied the game by scoring on wild pitches in the first and third innings.
“Maci (got) on every time, whether it was a passed ball, a hit,” Gibson said. “She just causes havoc.”
Oxnard retook the lead 3-2 in the top of the fourth with Shyanne Saxton singling, advancing to second base on an error, then scoring on a single from Mukul up the middle.
St. Bonaventure tied the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh on a hit by pitch and an infield error.
Paul Tinoco said the Yellowjackets are embracing the uncertainty of playoff softball.
“We told the girls, ‘Keep fighting hard. You get into playoffs, you never know what will happen,’ ” he said. “We have been here 22 years — we have seen a lot. Once you start rolling, a lot of things can happen.”
Division 5
Grace 6, Sun Valley-Shadow Hills 5: Freshman Eden Tuso was 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored and pitched two innings of scoreless relief as the visiting Lancers climbed out of a 3-0 deficit to advance to the quarterfinals.
“Our freshman had some big moments,” said Grace coach Heidi Bird.
With the game tied 5-5 in the top of the sixth, senior Grace Maguire singled to right field, stole second base and scored the eventual winning run on Tuso’s single up the middle.
Rosy Salazar, who started the game in the circle, was returned to get the final six outs to earn the save.
With the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the seventh, Salazar snagged a line drive up the middle for a game-ending double play.
“The key plays that needed to be made, we made them,” Bird said.
Isabella Cocca was 2 for 3 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored and Salazar went 2 for 3 with two runs scored for Grace (15-10), which will host Jurupa Hills-Patriot in Saturday’s semifinals.
Jurupa Hills-Patriot 10, Santa Clara 3: Kadyn Sanchez struck out 10 in 5.2 innings and Janelle Sanchez was 3 for 4, but visiting Santa Clara couldn’t hang onto an early 3-0 lead.
“Unfortunately, we made a few mistakes,” said Santa Clara coach Barry Mullen.
Bella Jimenez and Jay Herrera were both 2 for 4 and Sophia Grace Castorena was 2 for 4 for Santa Clara (15-8).
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram. Star staff writer Joe Curley contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard outlasts St. Bonaventure in extra-inning playoff thriller
Reporting by Dominic Massimino, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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