Vintage uses small ball to force mistakes and avenge loss to Petaluma in final game of regular season
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
With softball being such a speed game, bunts can be a way to force the issue and score runs. Since teams go all-out on bunt coverages, making them make plays can win you a game.
In Friday’s regular season finale, this is what Vintage did as they beat Petaluma, 6-1, in a Vine Valley Athletic League contest between two of the league’s top teams.
The Crushers (17-6 overall, 9-3 VVAL) once again had to come back in the game. But they did this by immediately answering with a run in the first to tie things up. It began when Aliyah McDonald walked and stole second, and then got to third on a wild pitch. A single by Desiree Griffith brought home McDonald.
Vintage took the lead in the third with a pair of runs to go up 3-1. McDonald singled, and Angie Rubalcava walked. Both moved up on a groundout. On Griffith’s sacrifice bunt, McDonald scored, and then on the errant throw, Rubalcava came around to score.
The Crushers got some much-needed run support in the sixth by scoring three more times. Sydney Morton and Aby Sims singled. McDonald’s bunt single would’ve loaded the bases, but instead it brought home Morton after there was another errant throw down the right field line that also allowed Sims to get to third and McDonald to second. An intentional walk to Rubalcava loaded the bases. When Malina Viruet reached on a fielder’s choice, Sims was out at the plate. But with the throw going down the right field line, it brought in McDonald and Rubalcava.
All game long, Vintage executed its bunts to perfection. This also forced Petaluma to throw the ball all over the field.
“Bunting in short game is something that we practice every single day,” Vintage head coach Megan Lopez explained. “I think it’s a huge part of the game. When you have to field a short ball, set your feet, make a throw, and rely on someone covering first base, (there’s) a lot of opportunity for errors. We exposed that today.”
This was also a product of having speed and athleticism throughout the lineup, which is something that hasn’t been there in years passed. When used right, it can be a weapon to push runs across.
“This is the first year in the last four years that we have speed, and it’s really nice that we can plug speed in all the way through the lineup,” Lopez added. “When we look at who’s coming up to the plate, I know that one, someone can get the bunt down, and two, we can beat it out, too.”
Leading the Crusher offense in the game was McDonald. The sophomore has found a home in the second spot in the lineup and has been an on-base machine over the last week. She finished the game with a nice 3-for-3 day at the plate, where she stole a base and scored 3 runs.
“Aliyah’s a really gritty player,” Lopez said of the sophomore. “She’s gonna scrap and do whatever she can to get on base, as well as do everything she can on the defensive end to get the ball and throw someone out. You saw her almost throw someone out from center field. So she’s just scrappy and gritty.”
It also helps that McDonald is able to go from catching to the outfield with ease, thanks to being a super-utility player.
“She’s extremely versatile,” Lopez continued. “We’ve called our versatile players our little Swiss Army knives, where she can play first, she can get behind the plate, and then she plays the left-handed batters really well in the outfield. So with the top of Petaluma’s lineup being left-handed one, left-handed two, we just moved her around the outfield to be able to field that ball.”
Others helping the offensive attack for Vintage were Morton (1-for-2, run), Viruet (1-for-3, walk, RBI), Carlee Carter (1-for-3), and Sims (1-for-4).
Getting the win in the circle was Rubalcava. The senior was once again on top of her game as she allowed an unearned run to score while striking out 11 and walking 2 in a complete game effort, throwing 107 pitches.
The Trojans (16-7, 8-4 VVAL) scored their lone run of the game in the first inning. Taylor Pellonari walked, stole second, and then moved to third on a passed ball. She scored on a single by Lauren Wilson.
With the win, Vintage avenges their 3-1 loss to Petaluma on April 16th. In that game, they didn’t have all their players due to it being Spring Break. But more importantly, the win means Vintage gets another home game to begin the VVAL League Tournament next Wednesday at 4 pm as the No. 2 seed when they will host No. 3 Petaluma in a rematch. This will also be the second year in a row where the two teams meet to begin the league tournament after ending the season against each other.
“It really is nice to get another home game, especially since the beginning of our season, we were on the road a lot in playing in alternate locations because of the weather,” Lopez pointed out. “So it’s nice to get these girls to be able to play at home at least one more time.”
The winner of Wednesday’s semifinal will face the winner of No. 4 American Canyon at No. 1 Casa Grande on Friday at 5 pm at the higher seed.
