As the final out settled into Makayla Bustos’ glove Thursday afternoon, America Barajas had somewhere to be.
The Riverside Prep senior still needed a shower. She still needed to get dressed.
And she still had a graduation ceremony to attend.
Fortunately for Barajas, the team’s lone starting senior, she would be arriving to the commencement ceremony as a winner.
Riverside Prep advanced to the CIF State Southern California Regional Division II softball championship game with a 4-3 victory over Redwood on June 4, keeping alive the most remarkable season in program history while ensuring Barajas’ softball career would last at least one more day.
The victory improved Riverside Prep to 29-4 and extended a season that already includes the program’s first CIF-Southern Section championship.
“I’m glad that I won’t be upset sitting at my graduation, especially because it would have been my last game if we did lose,” Barajas said. “So, I’m very happy.”
The Silver Knights accomplished the victory without head coach Lou Allan, who was sidelined by illness. Assistant coach Ivet Rodriguez guided the team with help from Riverside Prep baseball coach Rick Rivera and principal Frank Jimenez.
As they have throughout the postseason, the Silver Knights relied on freshman ace Lila Morris.
Morris struck out the side in the first inning and finished with 10 strikeouts while matching Redwood star Jackie Ramirez pitch-for-pitch in a showdown between two of California’s premier pitchers.
“She’s a really good pitcher,” Morris said of Ramirez, who entered the game with 281 strikeouts on the season. Morris is just behind at 274 punch outs.
“Going into this, we knew she’s a really good pitcher. Her stats showed it all,” Morris continued. “I’m a very competitive person. I always want to be the better one. I wanna come on top, which I have so far, but that’s not always gonna happen. I think just that mindset, that ace mentality, and just going out there with my best self every time.”
Riverside Prep gave Morris an early 2-0 lead in the first inning when Daisy Hernandez singled home Meeka Martinez and Obie Obregon added a sacrifice bunt to score Breeanna Garcia.
Redwood cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fourth before Garcia sparked another Riverside Prep run, leading off the bottom half of the inning with a single and eventually scoring on Hernandez’s RBI double.
The game appeared under control until the fifth inning. A pair of uncharacteristic Riverside Prep errors allowed Redwood to tie the score at 3-3.
The mistakes weighed heavily on Martinez.
“I think I over processed,” the shortstop said. “Instead of taking it like a normal ground ball, I dropped down instead of taking it, and I messed up the throw. Then the second one came and I was just tense. It’s a close game and I didn’t want to mess it up. And I did just that.”
But the Silver Knights never let the moment snowball.
After Arielle Crenshaw made a diving catch in shallow right field to end the inning and prevent further damage, Riverside Prep regrouped.
Garcia opened the sixth inning with a double and promptly stole third base.
“I was trying to be really aggressive,” Garcia said. “I had already noticed that the catcher’s throws were off target today.”
Moments later, Obregon stepped to the plate with the game on the line.
After missing on a squeeze bunt attempt, Obregon drove the next pitch deep enough to score Garcia from third with what proved to be the winning run.
“My main idea is just to get the run in,” Obregon said. “I knew she’d been throwing inside all day so I just told myself that I’m just gonna drive it as far as I can so she can come in. And, hey, it worked.”
Morris took care of the rest.
She needed only seven pitches in the seventh inning, ending the game when Ramirez popped out to Bustos at second base.
As teammates celebrated around her, Barajas could finally think about graduation.
“I’m going to hurry up and get ready so I won’t be all stinky at graduation,” Barajas joked.
And thanks to Thursday’s win, she still has one more softball game left before varsity playing days officially come to an end.
It’s unclear who the Silver Knights will host in the championship game Saturday as Great Oak will face Grace Memorial in the other semifinals game on Friday afternoon.
“See you Saturday,” Obregon said.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Riverside Prep advances to the CIF SoCal regional softball championship game
Reporting by Jose Quintero, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jose Quintero, Victorville Daily Press | USA TODAY Network
