Vintage battles but comes up on short end of pitchers duel by losing to Heritage in section semifinals
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Brentwood-It’s been a magical season for the Vintage softball team. If you look at what they accomplished.
If this is the end of the road for the Crushers, they have accomplished a lot. They not only won their first league title in 2013 but also had their first 20-plus win season and section semifinal appearance since then.
“Not only was this like a very talented and driven group, they’re a very special group and they truly get along,” an emotional Vintage manager Megan Lopez said of her group this season. “They truly come out to work hard every day. They have a bond like I’ve never seen on a team, no drama. They really bought into the three of us coaches coming in late, not knowing what to expect, some of them not having a coach right before their senior season. There’s a very special, talented, dedicated, driven group of special young ladies.”
The only way this isn’t the end of the road is if the Crushers get selected to take part in the first-ever CIF Northern California Regional playoffs that begin next week, with the brackets being announced on Sunday evening.
“If we’re fortunate enough to get into NorCal, I think it definitely could be that chip on the shoulder that kind of attitude and hunger that puts us a step ahead for sure,” Lopez said of possibly gaining an at-large bid in the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs.
The reason this could be the end is that No. 2 Heritage was able to beat the third-seeded Crushers 1-0 in Tuesday’s CIF North Coast Section Divison 1 semifinal on the heels of a no-hitter by senior left-handed pitcher Kasey Aguinaga.
Vintage (21-4) had their lone base runner of the contest come when Devin Viruet struck out and reached on a passed ball in the second inning.
In the game, Aguinaga struck out a whopping 15 Crushers. That included striking out the side in the first and seventh innings by the Boise State-bound pitcher.
“I would say she had a really good screwball as a lefty, so it’s an outside pitch,” Vintage senior Shelby Morse explained as to what she saw in the batter’s box. “She was working it kind of up and down. I think that’s what was throwing me off the entire time because I would get a good cut on the one that was kind of up a little bit, and then she would throw one that would kind of fall off the plate, and that’s the one I was missing.”
Aguinaga did it by living on the outside portion of the plate the entire game. The senior left-hander was able to get Vintage to swing on stuff that was way off the plate and to make weak contact in the six outs where they did manage to hit the ball.
“We haven’t faced many lefties this year and she just worked the outside corner, falling off the table,” Lopez said of the challenge her team faced. “The whole game was hard for us to adjust.”
On the flip side of the pitcher’s duel is Raimy Gamsby. The right-hander struck out six and allowed just the three hits in the game.
“The definition of consistency,” Lopez continued. “She works hard every day and threw lights out. She did really well today.”
The lone run she allowed came in the sixth when Ella Jenkins single and stole second and then came in on a single just past the outstretched glove of Vintage shortstop Taylor Lauritsen by Tianna Bell.
Gamsby was able to work out of the only other bit of trouble in the fifth when Jessica Im reached on an infield single and advanced to second on an overthrow to first by Lauritsen. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Mikayla Garrison. The Rutgers-bound senior was able to get Jenkins to strike out swinging in the next at-bat.
In the second, Im singled and got to second on a sacrifice bunt by Trinity Johnson. After the sacrifice, she was stranded at second when Gamsby was able to strike out Garrison in the next at-bat.
“I know that Raimy was working as hard as she could,” Morse said of her fellow senior. “I even told her that after they got their hit that drove on that run, she’s doing her job, and just at the plate, we need to reiterate that and get our hits. She was moving the ball great. She had girls swinging and missing. I noticed for a while was kind of a mirror between the two teams and innings and stuff like that. So I think she was just doing everything in her power for us to maybe win.”
Heritage (23-3-1) will advance to the championship game this Friday where they will visit top-seeded Granada in Livermore. You can view the updated bracket here.
Heading into next spring, Vintage will be losing five seniors. They should be in a prime position to compete for another league and section title.
