Photo by Bob Sykes
There was magic in the air again at Lakewood High on Tuesday—unfortunately it seemed to be emanating from the dugout of the Lancers’ opponents, as the wild-card Temecula Valley Bears continued their improbable postseason run with a 5-2 win over the Lancers in extra innings.
A very good hitting team, Lakewood just ran into a great pitcher who was having an “on” day—the Bears’ Brooke White struck out 16 Lakewood batters in 8 innings. She got the first six outs on swinging Ks. The Bears were also boosted by the return of injured sophomore Samantha Camello, who had missed the entire season with a fractured knee. Camello, rather than needing time to shake off the rust, had a RBI on an error single in the first inning to give her team a 1-0 lead, then a solo homerun in the top of the seventh to make it 2-0.
It was at that point that the Lancers seemed to finally solve White’s unique pitch delivery, as they mounted an impressive comeback. Kylie Grabrowski reached first on a bunt, then Amanda Robinson drove a single down the right line. Then Eliza Crawford, who struggled at the plate on Tuesday, had a truly masterful at-bat. She was down in the count 0-2, but took three straight balls, including one that was a hair away from being her fourth strikeout. At 3-2, she fouled off three straight, before drawing the walk to load the bases, pushing her runners over to second and third.
Sarah Carrasco wasted no time, ripping White’s pitch into left field for a double that scored two to tie the game, and put the winning run on third in the form of Crawford. The Bears intentionally walked Sammy Goerlitz, loading the bases again and backing Lakewood coach Miramontes off of the squeeze play. Sarah Magill hit it hard to short, and Crawford came barreling home. But the throw was right on, and beat Crawford by less than a step. After that, White got her 14th K of the game to end the inning.
With runners on first and second in the eighth, Camello came to the plate, and continued her incredible day with the game-winning single RBI down the right line. Katie Cleary added two insurance runs before Lakewood’s Nicole Warren could pitch out of it, and the Lancers went one-two-three in the bottom of the inning, as White got the final two of her strikeouts.
Give the Lancers credit for the comeback, and credit too to Warren; the junior ace gave up four hits in 8 innings, and just two earned runs. “Their pitcher is just a stud,” said Miramontes after the game; White finished having allowed four hits in 8 innings, along with the 16 Ks. “We had our chances, but [Camello] and that pitcher beat us.”
It’s always frustrating for a coach when errors and minor mistakes (the Lancers struggled to get bunts down all day) end up sinking the ship, but Miramontes says he hopes it will give his returning players something to think about. “It’s about hustling, and doing things the right way,” he said. “I’m upset with the loss, but not with the season—we came up short, but I’m just proud of how we fought.”