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Bulldogs take win from Mustangs
By VALERIE DETWILER/The Valley Chronicle
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SAFE!: Hemet’s Stefanie Pace, right, slides into home after the ball was overthrown at home plate as teammate Julie Hall looks on. West Valley pitcher Tiffany Durnill, left, covers home and awaits the ball to be thrown back.
VALERIE DETWILER / The Valley Chronicle
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It came down to the wire in last Friday's softball game that pitted cross-town rivals Hemet and West Valley high schools.
Despite a comeback, the Mustangs fell to the Bulldogs 6-5.
“We were a little shaky at the beginning,” Hemet coach Steve Diffy said. “We just came out and took them too lightly. Rose (Aiken) had them pumped up for this game, and they did a great job.”
Aiken, West Valley's head coach, said one bad inning always seems to separate the Mustangs from victory in their losses.
However, she added, the Mustangs are a young team, with only two senior starters.
The Bulldogs came out with aggressive defense in the first inning, allowing the Mustangs to get through only three batters before retiring West Valley to its dugout.
Hemet followed it up with heavy bats that put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first.
Bunts from Karissa Veiga and Heather Hermida landed both Bulldogs on base.
West Valley walked slugger Stefanie Pace, who had, according to Diffy, been averaging almost one home run a game.
The walk loaded up the bases for Katie Genn, who hit 3-for-3 for the day. Genn hit a double racking up two runs and two RBIs.
West Valley remained scoreless in the second inning.
Hemet's Veiga had the Bulldogs' third run in the second inning. She was brought in by Genn's single.
With the Bulldogs up 3-0, West Valley got into the swing of things and made a serious run in the third inning.
West Valley's Kayla Verdugo and Jessica Males had an RBI apiece, putting the Mustangs within one of the Bulldogs.
After a scoreless inning for Hemet third, the Mustangs rallied back in the fourth, scoring two runs.
Julie Hall and Rebecca Valdez each had an RBI for the Mustangs, and the two runs gave West Valley the lead, 4-3.
Hemet made a comeback of its own in the sixth inning when Pace's double brought in Veiga, and Kayla Sturms' single, combined with a fielding error on West Valley, brought in Genn and Pace.
Hemet was up 6-5 in the seventh inning.
Hemet pitcher Genn struck out West Valley's Valdez. Males had a single for the Mustangs but was thrown out at second. Vanessa Cordova and Shanika Cormier hit a single apiece to get on base.
Toni Felipe's double brought in Alex Felipe, who was the designated runner for Cordova to put the Mustangs within one of Hemet.
With the tying run on third base and two outs, junior Danya Rodgers was struck out by Genn for the win.
Aiken said she has high expectations for her young team and that she was proud of the way her athletes made great plays.
Diffy praised the pitching efforts of Genn who came in for starting pitcher Heather Josker in the third inning.
“She's a great pitcher, but it just wasn't her day,” said Diffy of Josker.
Hemet is 17-10 after two losses to Paloma Valley this week. West Valley ended its season 6-18 this week after splitting wins with Lakeside.
Hemet will move on to California Interscholastic Scholar-ship playoffs next week. Seeding had not been released by press time.
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