Softball: No. 2 Titans ‘Steele’ One from Mt. Carmel

The Poway High softball team, ranked second in the county in the latest Union-Tribune poll, used some timely hits and solid defense to edge ninth-ranked Mt. Carmel 3-2 on Friday in a key Palomar League game. 

Four-time defending Division II CIF champion Mt. Carmel (12-8-1, 2-4) took the early lead with an RBI single from Gina Calo in the top of the first, but the Titans came right back to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning with a long two-run bomb off the bat of Haley Steele.

“It set the tone for the rest of the game,” said Steele, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI. “It gave us the confidence we needed and allowed us to relax just a bit.”

Solid pitching kept the score the same until the fifth inning, when the defense came up huge for the Titans. 

The Sundevils' Nina Villanueva sent a shot deep to center that would have left the ball park and tied the score if not for a game-saving catch by Stephanie Rocco, who reached over the wall to pull it back for the out.

Then in the top of the seventh, the Sundevils had a chance for late-game glory with two runners on and one out, but relief pitcher Brianna Burns was able to close out the game with consecutive outs in a match that head coach Jim Bennet described as a war.

“That’s how this league is, to win the Palomar ‘war’ you have to win 10 battles,” said Bennet. “Every game in this league is a rivalry game and every game is close. It really prepares us all for the playoffs, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

This season, the Titans returned five seniors who were starters on last year’s team, and hopes are high that this could be their year to be crowned Palomar League and CIF champions.

“I definitely think we can win this year,” said Bennet. “We’re giving ourselves the opportunity to succeed, but the ball has to bounce our way in order to pull it off.”

Poway High has only one Palomar League and CIF softball title (2002), but the Titans have a solid foundation and know what they need to do to add to that total this year.

“We’re all going to have to do our jobs and work hard at practice,” said Rocco, who went 2-for-4 and scored a run. “We’re a strong defensive team. We’re going to need to keep that up and keep getting clutch hits to finish strong.”

As the regular season winds down, the Palomar League is bunched at the top of the standings. Poway (9-5, 5-1) holds a one-game lead over Rancho Bernardo and Torrey Pines after the Broncos lost to the Falcons on Friday. The Broncos edged Poway 6-5 a week ago, the only league loss for the Titans.

Next week Poway hosts Westview on Wednesday and will travel to Torrey Pines on Friday. On May 13, they’ll wind up the regular season when they head to RB for what could be the deciding game for the Palomar League crown.

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