Morse’s monster day leads Vintage past Casa Grande
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
For four years, the Vintage softball team has been fortunate to have Shelby Morse going in between the lines every game for them.
During that time, the senior has been a dominant force in the circle and has taken over as the team’s best hitter at the end of her four-year varsity stint.
On Wednesday afternoon, it was Morse who led the Crushers to a 5-0 victory over Casa Grande-Petaluma.
It all began in the first after Angie Rubalcava doubled to left-center and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Audrey Manley to set the table for Morse, who roped a two-run homer to straightaway center field. The homer was her fourth of the campaign.
Morse also sparked a rally in the fourth following her bloop double down the right-field line. After reaching second, courtesy runner Jillian Harnois came in and stole third before scoring on a sacrifice fly to right field by Devin Viruet.
The senior ended the day going 2-for-3 with a home run, double, run scored, a stolen base and two runs batted in.
“Shelby continues to be consistent for us,” first-year Crushers skipper Megan Lopez said of Morse’s big day with the stick. “She’s always putting the ball in play. Always hitting in those RBIs that we need. She’s definitely a key player for us.”
In the circle, Morse was also impressive. She worked five innings on just 58 pitches while striking out ten in the game on her way to a win.
“She was dominant,” Lopez said of Morse’s performance in the circle. “She hit her spots. She had a one-hitter I think throwing some heat strikeouts hitting her spots.”
Vintage (14-2 overall, 8-1 Vine Valley Athletic League) pushed another run across in the fifth when Taylor Lauritsen reached on a bunt single and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Rubalcava. When Manley reached on an error, Lauritsen scored.
The Crushers’ final run of the contest came in the sixth when Viruet singled and came around to score on a Gamsby single.
“After the game, we talked and it was one of those total team efforts,” Lopez said of the late-inning offense that put the game away. “We had that sac fly, we had a sack bunt, we were moving our runners from first to third. Just some timely things happening and working hard to make make it count.”
Others leading Vintage’s offensive attack were Viruet (1-for-2 run, RBI), Rubalcava (1-for-2 double), Lauritsen (1-for-2), Gamsby (1-for-3 RBI), and Brianna Allen (1-for-3).
Gamsby worked the final two innings of this game striking out five of the six batters faced on just 21 pitches.
Up next, Vintage has a very important game at American Canyon on Thursday at 4 pm. When they last met on April 12th, the Crushers beat American Canyon 5-1.
Meanwhile, Casa Grande will have the league bye on Thursday before ending their season next Tuesday when they visit Napa at 4 pm.
In other VVAL action Tuesday, Petaluma beat Sonoma Valley 11-9. You can view the updated league standings here.
