Villalva, Buffer lift Valhalla to 1-0 win

By ECS Staff
Updated: April 30, 2023

Valhalla against Point Loma. / Valhalla Softball IG

2023 EAST COUNTY PREP SOFTBALL

ECS Staff

RANCHO SAN DIEGO – It was a touch unconventional, yet Valhalla pitcher Naomi Villalva was still able to shut out Point Loma, despite allowing seven hits to win, 1-0, in Saturday’s (Apr. 29) non-league contest at Leto Family Field.

Villalva struck out seven Pointers batters, but the seven hits, coupled with four walks and Norsemen error, saw Point Loma get 11 baserunners. However, they stranded 11 — one was caught stealing.

Meanwhile, the offense of Orange Nation needed a mere five pitches to tally its lone run.

On a 3-1 pitch, leadoff batter Cadyn Ruffer belted a home run deep to center field. For Ruffer, the shortstop, it was her sixth homer of the season,

Meanwhile, Point Loma freshman pitcher Ryoko Schroth allowed just three other hits in her complete game. She struck out eight batters, yet was defeated on the first batter she faced.

Valhalla (12-9-1 overall) extended its winning streak to four ballgames. Point Loma is now even with an 11-11 record.

Our Lady of Peace 7, Steele Canyon 5
Our Lady of Peace 14, Santana 0

SANTEE – In a pair of tournament make-up games, Our Lady of Peace agreed to play both of Saturday’s (Apr. 29) pool play games at Santana, but the Pilots looked right at home.

OLP (12-8-1 overall) extended its winning streak to four contests by holding off Steele Canyon, 7-5, then smacked the host Sultans, 14-0.

The Pilots scored early in the first game, then late in the nightcap.

Against the Cougars, six early tallies were the difference. Then in the second game, while holding 7-0 lead, they posted seven more runs in the seventh inning to double the winning margin.

In the opener, Stefini Ma’ake provided the majority of the offense for OLP, including a three-run home run in the second inning. It was her 15th blast of the season to rank among the CIFSDS leaders. Ma’ake also belted a pair of doubles in a 3-for-4 outing, good for four RBI.

Trailing 6-0, Steele Canyon was able to scratch back on consecutive singles by Gabrielle Ortega Alves to score Kamea Seunarine to make it 6-1 in the second.

A couple of innings later the Cougars went back to business starting with an RBI single by Illy Barclay followed by a three-run blast by Jazmin Williams deep to left field for her sixth of the season to bring the ballclub to within a run, 6-5.

Williams on the day would go 2-for-4 at the plate.

However, Pilots pitcher Alex Riggs was finally able to shut the door and collect the complete-game victory.

In Game Two, a one-sided contest became much worse when Our Lady of Peace added seven more runs in the seventh.

This time, Ma’ake pitched a five-hit shutout for the Pilots.

The younger Ma’ake sister, Alayna, aided the cause with her own three-run homer to center field. The older Ma’ake would also homer for her 16th of the season, moving to within one of the CIFSDS record.

The all-time CIF San Diego Section single-season home run record of 17 is held by Oceanside’s Trina Harrison, Poway’s Colleen Sullivan, and more recently, East County’s Sofia Mujica of Granite Hills, who tied the record her freshman season.

At the plate, Santana (15-4-1) was limited to a pair of doubles by Kaitlyn Ruckle, who went 2-for-3. Both McKenna Miller and Sara Spry had the other hits.