- The Bears use two home runs in the sixth inning to defeat the Gauchos at home.
- After finishing undefeated in the CCC, the Bears will host Lodi High to begin the playoffs.
- Despite the loss, the Gauchos qualified for the Division 3 playoffs and will play Vanden High in the first round.
Merced High closed out their regular season at home, hosting El Capitan in the final CCC game of the year. The Bears have been nothing short of spectacular this season, cruising through the CCC undefeated. While the Gauchos have been up and down throughout the season, they came into Merced winners of their last two and playing some competitive softball to end the season.
El Capitan struck first in the top of the opening inning against senior pitcher Annalise Ramirez. A leadoff single from Tasha Dickey set the tone, and after Emma Derichsweiler followed with a bunt hit in front of the plate, Dickey stole third on the next pitch. With the third baseman for Merced unable to handle, Dickey was able to score the first run of the game for the Gauchos as the ball sailed into left field.
The Bears would settle in, defensively, after giving up that run as they retired the next six batters before allowing Dickey to reach on another error. However, the Bears would catch her stealing second base and strike out the next hitter to end the third inning. The Gauchos could only collect two more hits after that point, a single in the fourth inning and a single in the sixth inning as Bears pitcher Annalise Ramirez shut them down the rest of the way.
Merced finally tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Madison Cabral sparked the inning with a double to center field and advanced into scoring position after a bunt from Aliyah Solis. The Bears capitalized on the opportunity and brought Cabral home after a hit from Ava Waldron to tie the game at 1-1, shifting momentum the Bears’ way for the first time.
The game stayed tied through the fifth inning, but in the sixth inning, Merced’s Antonia Lejarde led the inning off with a home run to left field, giving Merced its first lead of the day and energizing the dugout. Moments later, Madison Cabral followed with another solo shot to deep center field, extending the lead to 3-1. Ava Waldron added a single later in the inning as Merced continued to apply pressure and take control of the game. She was subbed for pinch runner Alexis Schwalm who was brought home after a single from Eliana Uriostegui. By the end of the sixth inning, the Bears were in firm control with a 4-1 lead. In the top of the seventh, Ramirez finished the job. She opened the inning with back-to-back strikeouts and ended the game with a flyout to left field.
Merced senior pitcher Annalise Ramirez said the undefeated CCC title “means everything because of how much hard work [the team] put in all [her] 4 years”. Reflecting on how Merced responded after El Capitan’s early start, she pointed to a shift in intensity during the game, saying, “the other side was getting rowdy and talking bad, so that energized us to do better and show them we’re better.”
Ramirez also discussed the upcoming playoffs next week, “I want to get past the 1st round, which I’m confident that we will… and just keep doing good from there,” while also stressing improving in areas like “starting early in the game, fixing the little errors, and not overthinking everything.”
Both teams will advance to the playoffs next week. El Capitan will enter the Division 3 playoffs as a 14 seed and travel to Vanden High to take on the #3 ranked Vikings in the first round. Merced, meanwhile, extends their undefeated league run to 10-0 and advances into the Division 2 tournament as a 6 seed. The Bears will host Lodi High on May 13 at 4:00pm.
- Photos by Grace Gallegos. ↩︎
