Eagles, Pack win against Bulldogs

By Adam Paul
Updated: March 4, 2022

photo by Vic Marano

2022 EAST COUNTY SOFTBALL

By Adam Paul

Ramona (3-3-2022) – A strong outing by Eagles pitcher Taylor Rose combined with the bats coming alive really put a damper on the home team as the Eagles cruised to the 8-1 victory over the Ramona Bulldogs in Falcon Fiesta action on Thursday afternoon.

Eagles slugger Sofia Mujica would really do some damage on the day as she would belt two solo home runs which included one to lead off the game as she went 2-for-3 and scored three runs.

They would go on to score four more runs in the top of the fourth inning which included an RBI single by Audre Smale followed by a three-run blast by Chloe Knepp which was her first of the season to give the Eagles a 5-0 lead.

Both Jenna Haynal (1-3, R, RBI) and Breanna Diaz (2-3, RBI) would drive in runs in the top of the fifth inning to extend the lead even further to 7-0.

The lone run by the Bulldogs would come in the bottom of the seventh inning on an RBI double.

Rose picked up the victory for the Eagles as she went all seven innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out two.

On the day the Eagles racked up fourteen hits which included Kamryn Flath (2-3), Kailey Sandoval (2-4, 2 R, SB) among the others to have multiple hits on the day.

The Eagles now improve to 3-3-1 and will next play on Monday against the Rancho Bernardo Broncos.

Valhalla 7, El Capitan 5

The Norsemen would erase a four-run deficit and score a late insurance run and hold onto beat the El Capitan Vaqueros on Thursday afternoon in Lakeside.

Early on things were going the way of the Vaqueros as Ava Gall would single to right field but the ball would be misplayed allowing both Alyssa Fierro and Dom Garcia which was followed by a two-run single by Brook Horne to make it 4-0.

But the Norsemen would make a comeback thanks to Cadyn Ruffer who hit a solo homer to lead off the inning, Alya Chapa would drive in a run, Maryn Jordan would also drive in a run to pull within 4-3 and Marissa Lupo would hit a ball that was misplayed by the Vaqueros which would allow three runs to score and give them a 6-4 lead.

El Capitan would pull within 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Gall drove in Fierro.

An RBI single by Nayeli Chapa in the top of the seventh inning would give the Norsemen the insurance they needed as Fish finished out the bottom of the seventh retiring the side.

With the win the Valhalla Norsemen improve to 7-1 and are off to their best start since 2015 when they finished the season 20-8. On the other side the El Capitan Vaqueros fall to 2-2.

West Hills 5, Calexico 2

In their first ball game of the season, the West Hills Wolf Pack took advantage of their opportunities to hand the visiting Bulldogs of Calexico a road loss on Thursday afternoon.

The Wolf Pack would take advantage of the Bulldogs in the bottom of the third inning when Naomi Kai hit a ball that was misplayed allowing both Samiya Wright and Amaya Angeli to score which made it 2-0.

Calexico would pull within 2-1 in the top of the fifth inning when they would score on an error by West Hills.

However, the Wolf Pack were not shaken and went back to work starting with a leadoff walk by Callia Rooks which was followed by a base hit by Angeli to give them runners at first and second. Later in the inning with two-outs Kai stepped to the plate and blasted a three-run homer over the center-field fence which gave them a 5-2 lead.

Scoring on the home run was Chiara Burgin who came in as a courtesy runner and Angeli,

Alyssa Thornton garnered the victory for West Hills as she went all seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out two and walking none on the day.

West Hills (1-0) will now take on Holtville on Saturday.

Santana 12, Mission Bay 11

With both teams going back and forth scoring-wise the Santana Sultans would take advantage late and score what would end up being the winning run on an error by the home team Mission Bay Buccaneers on Thursday afternoon.

An RBI double by Ashtyn Niemiec that scored Haley Oceguera would give Santana a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. However, the momentum didn’t last as the Buccaneers would score five runs that included a three-run blast to take a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the inning.

Madison Jordan would drive in both Taylinn Warren and Samantha Sullivan to pull within 5-3 and later in the inning Oceguera would knock in both Jordan and McKenna Miller to tie the game at 5-5 which was followed by a Hailey Phillips Fielders’ choice to retake the lead 6-5 in the bottom of the third inning.

Trailing 7-6 in the top of the fifth inning the Sultans would retake the lead as Warren doubled in both Carissa Ruiz and Phillips and a couple of batters later Kassidy Harper knocked in Miller to make it 9-7.

The Sultans again would trail in the top of the sixth inning and would again fight back as they scored on an error, sacrifice fly and a walk to retake the lead 12-11.

Now with a one-run lead Gracie Johnson went back out to pitch and she was able to retire Mission Bay in order to preserve the victory.