LODI WINS CROSSTOWN SOFTBALL GAME
MORADA — For three innings, Lodi and Tokay battled in their Tri-City Athletic League and cross-town softball game at the Arnaiz Softball Complex.
Then Lodi’s bats came alive. Tokay had no response.
The Tigers were looking for their first league win of the season, but instead it was Lodi that secured its second straight TCAL victory with more than a half-dozen hits in one inning, which led to a decisive 14-1 win over the Tigers. The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Lodi (2-2 in the TCAL, 4-8), which knocked off defending TCAL champion St. Mary’s, 4-3, on Monday, held a 4-1 advantage going into the top of the fourth inning. Lodi, which had two outs, started with leadoff hitter and winning pitcher Ashlee Toy singled. That was followed by Allisa Yabumoto’s bunt single.
Then the Flames’ hitting clinic got underway. Shelby Katzakian and Haley Price each doubled early in the inning. Then Flame teammates Johnna Schroeder, Danielle Pfenning and Marissa Fabian each singled while Alyssa Pinto walked. Before the inning was over, Toy singled to left field. Pfenning also had another hit in the frame.
“I’m happy with what I’m seeing,” said Lodi coach Michelle Souza. “The girls are executing; the bunts, hit and run. To me, they are getting better on base running. We’re hitting; that’s part of the game.”
Yabumoto and Schroeder each scored twice in the inning. Lodi finished with eight hits, plus three walks.
“They came out banging the ball,” said Tokay coach Aaron Misasi. “They came out swinging confidently.”
Tokay (0-3 in the TCAL, 5-4) has struggled in its at-bats in recent games. In the first few innings of Wednesday’s game, the Tigers had three hits that included two in the third inning; a double by Kayly Pau and single from Aliah Cisneros.
But after Lodi scored its double-digit runs in the top of the fourth, the Tigers only managed one hit; Pau singled in the bottom of the fifth.
“We, on the opposite side, did not (hit),” Misasi said. “We had a few hard
hit balls right at people with people on.”
As Lodi sat comfortably on its now expanded lead, Tokay tried to get its bats awake in the bottom of the fourth. Megan Walker walked with no outs. But the Flames pulled off a double play when Schroeder, playing shortstop, took a hit ball by Tokay’s Hannah Hauschildt, touched second base to get out Walker and threw to Pinto, who moved to first base after starting the game in center field, for two outs. An infield fly ball led to the Flames’ third out of the inning.
“They outplayed us,” Misasi said. “Their pitchers did better than ours. That was the difference.”
The game ended in the fifth
inning when Pinto closed her glove on a short pop fly. This was Pinto’s first rivalry game against the Tigers, and her second game back this week.
“I loved the team’s performance today,” Pinto said. “It was a great feeling, winning with them. The chemistry has been great these past few games, and I’m so happy I was able to beat Tokay in my first rivalry game.”
Headed to the University of Oregon on a scholarship, Pinto, who has played at four different high schools in four years, has been nursing a hamstring injury that required physical therapy.
“It has been a challenge for me,” Pinto said. “Going through physical therapy was difficult, but it was good for me to get it stronger, and I came back sooner (than expected). It was great to be
back on the field again.”
Souza added, “Everybody out here watching is thinking ‘real deal.’ She’s a really smart player.”
Lodi extended its 2-1 lead after two innings to 4-1 in the top of the third. Schroeder led off with a double, followed by back-to-back singles from Pfenning and Pinto.
The Flames took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Toy (4-for-5 with 3 RBIs) singled and scored on a triple by Schroeder (3-for-4 plus 2 RBIs and scored three times). Schroeder touched home plate when Pinto hit into a fielder’s choice.
Tokay, which only had six hits in the game, scored its lone run was aided by a Lodi error in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Mia Misasi reached base on an infield error, and later scored on Pau’s single. Sydney Giovannoni
had the Tigers’ other hit in the inning.
In the circle, Toy went three innings and Pfenning tossed the final two.
“I can switch my pitchers, and they are getting the job done, too,” Souza said. “We have trust in them.”
Lodi’s win over the Tigers, along with upsetting St. Mary’s, is the hope of making some more noise in TCAL play.
“With the group that we have, injuries that are healing now, this is what you’re going to see,” Souza said. “We still have to play perfect ball. No team is going to give up in the TCAL.”
Pinto added, “I’m hoping for more wins to come.”