Yucaipa hitters adjust and CIF first-round game is in the win column
YUCAIPA - Slower pitchers tend to give the Lady Thunderbird hitters trouble. And for five innings, right-hander Katherine Flores of the El Rancho Dons of Pico Rivera (13-13) had Yucaipa out in front of her slow drop and change up, but in the sixth the slow stuff didn't fool Yucaipa anymore and they erupted for four runs to defeat the Dons, 6-3, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division II Playoffs at home on Thursday.
"The off speed slower pitches kill us," said Yucaipa Head Coach, Dave Kivett. "They have a hard time sitting back and waiting for the ball to get in their zone, but they made the adjustment and stayed within themselves and then we started hitting the ball."
Yucaipa (22-8) held a slim, 2-1, lead heading into the sixth - on the strength of shortstop Megan Allen's bat. The #4 four hitter in the lineup gave Yucaipa a 1-0 lead in the first inning by lacing a single to center-field to score Shelby Vanderwall, who led off the inning with a double. And then in the fifth her rocket into the shortstop-third base hole chased home Vanderwall again with the second run.
Yucaipa held on to that slim 2-1 advantage thanks to the solid pitching of Jessica English. The senior right-hander with an explosive rise ball came on in the third to relieve starter Tracy Hampton with two outs and El Rancho threatening with runners on first and third.
But English blew away Kristina Hernandez with a letter-high inside riser to escape the inning.
"Their pitcher (English) did a great job and had us swinging under her rise ball," said El Rancho Head Coach, Stephanie Senteno-Tapia. "Our biggest problem was we left too many on base when we had the chance to take the lead. "
Hampton threw well and only gave up an unearned run in the second, but an infield error, single and walk brought on English, who scattered six hits, allowed two runs, and struck out six over the final 4 1/3 innings.
"Jess had her ball working well and she stayed in her zone," Kivett said. "She has worked hard to get back her rhythm." El Rancho did threaten in the seventh though, and scored two runs on three hits before English nailed down the win with a game-ending fly ball.
With English keeping El Rancho's bats in check, Yucaipa finally put the game away in the decisive sixth.
But it took a bit of "inspirational" talk to ignite the fire. "We had started the game slow," said third baseman Courtney Brown. "Coach asked us before the sixth if we were giving it our all. That kind of put a spark under us and we just turned it on from there."
In the sixth, singles by English and Vanderwall each drove in a run, and Alyssa Herron's infield out scored Hampton, who had singled. Ali Reykdal finished Yucaipa's scoring by lacing a double down the left-field line to bring home Vanderwall.
"Katherine (Flores) did a great job for us all season, but she got her pitches a little up and some of her pitches weren't working toward the end of the game and Yucaipa did a great job adjusting," Senteno-Tapia said. "I'm proud of our team. We started the season 2-10 and won 11 of our last 13 games and it's the first time we have been in the playoffs in three years."
The Lady Thunderbirds now move on to the second round where they will meet the winner of Upland (20-6 overall, 13-2 Baseline League) and Colony of Ontario (15-10, 11-4 of the Del Rio League).
"I've seen them both play, but we haven't played them," Kivett said. "They are both very good and it will be a battle regardless who we play at this point and time in the playoffs."
Yucaipa will resume playoffs on Tuesday, May 26 at 3:15 p.m. with a coin flip determining whether or not they play at home or away.
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