Lauritsen’s walk off single leads Vintage past Petaluma in nail-biter to continue winning ways
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Winning in a walk-off fashion is always fun. Plus, it is such a dramatic way to win that it can keep the momentum going for a while.
On Monday afternoon’s Vine Valley Athletic League contest, the Vintage softball team won in this fashion, 3-2, over Petaluma.
The game was tied at 2 entering the bottom half of the seventh when Dessiana Garcia started the rally by roping a double to left-center before moving to third on a bunt single by Desiree Griffith. Then, Taylor Lauritsen came up and sent a single into left field to bring in Garcia and send the Crushers home as winners.
“I think for the most part I just had to make sure that the battle was good I guess in a way,” Lauritsen said of her mindset going into the at-bat where she won the game. “I had to make sure the emotional situation didn’t get to me too, so I had to make sure that I was calm. Inside, I feel like I was nervous for sure. But I knew that even if I did mess up my team would still be there for me so I didn’t let it get to me too much.”
Lauritsen has seen a bunch of success as well after moving to the leadoff spot. At the start of this season and all of last season, she had been batting in the lower third of the lineup. But since moving to the leadoff spot, the Crushers have been scoring runs at will and winning a lot.
“Well being in there was more pressure I guess,” Lauritsen said of the move to the leadoff spot and what it’s been like. “But just knowing that if I do get it wrong you know it won’t be there for me but believing in myself more at the plate really helps make sure that I do well for the team.”
Before scoring the one run in their final at-bats, Vintage had been held scoreless for four innings by Trojans starter Lili Pardini. Pardini took the loss in the game striking out 6 and walking 2 in 6 innings of work and 115 pitches. All three runs were earned as well.
“She had our number,” Vintage second-year head coach and manager Megan Lopez explained of the trouble to do anything in the middle innings of the game. “I think she was really just mixing speeds and getting us out on our front foot and it took us a minute to adjust and find a zone with her.”
Vintage (7-4, 3-1 VVAL) also scored the opening two runs in the second inning. Ava Raines singe before getting to second on a single by Cienna Alvarez. Both moved up a base when the ball ate up the right fielder as well. A Mia Griffith walk loaded the bases. Raines then came in when Griffith went to steal second and drew a throw, which allowed Raines to score and Alvarez to get to third. A safety squeeze by Desiree Griffith brought in Alvarez.
“We know that Petaluma has kind of gone toe to toe with some big bigger teams in our league,” Lopez said of the importance of scoring first in the game. “So my approach was to score first here. In order to do that right off the bat, get those first couple of runs. Usually, it’s the goal to let the girls kind of settle in. But unfortunately, that pitcher had our number during the middle innings.”
Leading the Crusher batting attack were Desiree Griffith (2-for-3 RBI, 3 stolen bases), Lauritsen (1-for-2 walk, RBI), Alvarez (1-for-3 run, stolen base), Raines (1-for-3 run, stolen base), Allen (1-for-3), and Garcia (1-for-1 double).
The Trojans (3-4, 2-3 VVAL) scored their first run of the game in the third when Payton Yeomans doubled and got to third on a sacrifice bunt by Lily Gemma before scoring on a wild pitch.
In the sixth, they tied the game up at 2 when Katrina Johnson doubled and got to third on a pitch and then came in on a sacrifice fly to right field by Hollie Pardini.
Getting the win in the circle for Vintage was Angie Rubalcava. The sophomore right-hander worked all seven frames, allowing just two runs. She also struck out 11 batters and walked just 1 on 108 pitches to pick up her second winning decision of the season.
“I think Angie went deep and counts today a little bit more than she’s used to,” Lopez said of Rubalcava. “So there’s a little bit of adversity there with her but she pulled through for us in the end.”
The win also pushes the Crushers’ winning streak to 7 games. They now haven’t lost a game since the middle of March.
“I think the team is really getting to know each other and how each other plays, which is awesome,” Lauritsen explained. “Getting the job that we need to keep us together and we know that no matter how many mistakes we make, that the team is not going to get down on each other, that we’re always there for each other.”
Both teams will continue league play on Wednesday at 4 pm. Petaluma will return home to host Justin-Siena. Meanwhile, Vintage will meet American Canyon on the road in what will be a battle for league supremacy.
