Softball: Wildcats Run Past Gabrielino in Wildcard Round Win

The Monrovia softball team got a solid outing by Adrienne Guerra and aggressive base running keyed the Wildcats’ 6-4 win over Gabrielino on Tuesday in a CIF-Southern Section Division 5 wildcard contest. The Wildcats now move on to play at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel on Thursday.

“We came out better than the critics thought we would,” Wildcats coach Randy Medina said. “I was very proud at the effort and chances we took. Guerra went the distance, leaving (Emmy) Orozco well rested for Calvary Chapel.”

The Wildcats played like the team from over a month ago, if not better. Once Elise McCarthy got on with a single, she wasted no time getting to second on a steal. It became contagious, as the Wildcats stole six times, which led to four runs.

“In games like these, we will always take our chances at the base paths,” Medina said. “I’ve got some decent speed with runners on. We did make some errors trying out some things, but a lot of those went our way.”

Guerra struggled midway through her start in the circle, but she picked things up to earn the victory. She finished her afternoon allowing seven hits with only two strikeouts, but her location was on as she was able to strand runners at third base in three of the seven innings.

“My locations were on today,” Guerra said. “I worked with my catcher trying to find my spots. I kept my pitches up and they were hacking at them the way I wanted them to.”

Medina gave a change of pace defensively, with Orozco at second base.

“It is a transition, but I feel very comfortable where I have been playing recently,” Orozco said. “I never worry where I play game after game. I just know that if I can’t be in the circle, Adrienne can get the job done, and she did today.”

Offensively the Wildcats made sure the game would go their way early with a number of crucial plays starting in the first inning. After Samantha Saucedo brought in the first run on a sacrifice fly, Guerra laid down a suicide squeeze that brought home Kelly Williams from third. The Eagles responded in the bottom half with Vanessa Mijares’s RBI triple.

Monrovia’s bats stayed hot in the second inning. Stephanie Garza plated a run on a groundout to second base. Two batters later, Kelly Williams and Schae Simpson had back-to-back singles for two more runs. The Eagles came right back two innings later. Emily Prince and Autumn Gallegos led the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles, and Rebecca Sanchez hit a double to left-center field to bring them in. She later scored from a single by Mijares. Monrovia added an insurance run in the sixth.

McCarthy finished the afternoon 1-for-4 with two runs scored. Garza had two RBIs.

Things don’t get any easier as they will travel to south Orange County and face Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, winners of the Orange Coast League. The Eagles are coming in hot, scoring 10 or more runs in nine of the last 10 games. They also have scored 20 or more runs in four of those games. The Wildcats will have a day of rest and practice to prepare for what’s coming.  

“Calvary Chapel has had a wonderful season,” Medina said. “Even if they have played some easier opponents, what matters is that they finished first in their league. We are going in with that respect, and all we can do is go in with the best game possible and play the same style we had against Gabrielino.”