SOFTBALL: Late Los Gatos Rally Falls Short

The Score: Leigh 6, Los Gatos 5

The Stars: Two members of a memorable 10-member Los Gatos High senior class had quite a showing in their final game in black and orange. Seniors Sarah Van belleghem and Sammi Ridgway combined for six hits, falling just short in a 2011 Central Coast Section Division I Softball first round playoff game Wednesday afternoon in Los Gatos.

Leigh High-San Jose, the No. 8 seed in the Division I draw, held off a furious Los Gatos rally to edge the hosts, 6-5.

Both players had their fingerprints all over the tightly contested seven inning affair. Ridgway rocked a one-out double to the gap in the bottom of the seventh to inject some late life into the ‘Cats comeback hopes. Van belleghem followed with her fourth hit of the game, ringing a RBI single into the right field corner to score Ridgway and make the score, 6-5.

Ridgway also had a pair of sensational snags in center field, the first coming against the wall in the second inning. Two innings later, Ridgway was at it again, diving to her right to rob a Longhorns hitter of an extra base hit on the warning track.

The Turning Point: Van Belleghem and Ridgway started the comeback push in the seventh, then the rest of the team followed suit nicely. Sophomore Sydney Werner drew a walk to put two runners aboard, including the game winning run at first base.

On the final out of the game, a high chopper was hit to Leigh shortstop Allie Bost. The infielder charged the tricky bouncer, scooped the ball up in stride and threw a dart to first to end the game. Two ‘Cats runners were left stranded to end the season.

The Quotes: “I really thought we were going to win it,” Los Gatos senior Sammi Ridgway said after the hard fought playoff loss. “I didn’t know how we were going to do it, but I just felt like we would find a way to win this game.”

Ridgway,Van belleghem, Sarah Vais, Molly MacIerz, Annie Ricci, Haley Ferrell, Keri Corey, Hannah Mutz, Leslie Zankich and Kelsey Shain make up the senior class for Los Gatos.

“Being one of the 10 seniors and a member of this team, I just loved every minute of it,” Ridgway said. “We just didn’t hit in the beginning of the game today. “We didn’t get going until the later innings.”

What's Next? Leigh, the No. 8 seed in the Division I bracket will play No. 1 seed and nationally ranked San Benito High on Saturday. Los Gatos finishes the year with a 20-7-1 record overall and graduates 10 seniors.

Bottom Line: Despite a rough day in the field, the Los Gatos team peppered the ball all over the field in the late innings, finishing with 11 hits and five runs scored. Down five runs with two innings to go, the ‘Cats nearly came all the way back before a tough high hopper was fielded clean to end things on a sour note. Sophomore Hannah Yeager had two RBIs in the game, while junior Lisa Columbo and senior Mutz each added one during the sixth inning rally.

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Leigh 6, Los Gatos 5

L- 2 0 1 2 0 1 0- 6 9 1

LG-0 0 0 1 0 3 1 – 5 11 5

WP: Hogan. LP: Shain

Records: L 18-9-1, 9-5 Mt. Hamilton. LG 20-7-1, 10-2 SCVAL De Anza.