Softball: Watanabe Sparks Titans' Round 1 Win

When Alexis Watanabe missed out playing against La Canada because of illness a few weeks ago, the San Marino softball team not only missed its offensive stud, but also its team leader. Trailing Nipomo by one Thursday in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs, it was her duty to bring the team back to life.

Her 3-for-4 performance with 3 RBIs, including an inside the park home run that tied the game in the third inning, gave the Titans all they needed for the 3-1 victory.

“Alexis is known for carrying the team emotionally,” Titans coach Hilda Valencia said. “The girls fed off that run, and we just took off from there.”

Watanabe proved to be the Titans’ most difficult out all game. With the team down and out early in the third inning, she took a 3-1 pitch and lined it to the right field corner. When she reached third base, Valencia gave the green light to head home. The play at the plate was well short as Watanabe slid across the plate for the tying run that set off a huge spark the rest of the way.

“In that at-bat, I had to find a way to pick up the team,” Watanabe said. “When I hit it out to right, all I was thinking was to run and see how far I would go.”

“When I saw her coming in, I wanted her to be aggressive,” Valencia said. “I was thinking green light the entire time.”

Watanabe gave the Titans the lead in the fifth with a triple to right-center, scoring Caitlyn Calahan from first. She even tried to earn her second inside the parker, but she was beat out on the throw home.

Sophomore pitcher Michelle Floyd also stood her ground with the support of her offense. She finished with a complete game logging 15 strikeouts to two hits. The lone run allowed was unearned in the first, when catcher Raquel Edmonds overthrew second on a steal attempt by Courtney Cuzick. The throw was deep enough that it allowed Cuzick to score on the play. Immediately after the play Floyd asked for a team huddle to rally her troops.

“After that play we just laughed and took a deep breath,” Floyd said. “Sometimes it is just those moments that you just need to move on, forget about, and come back strong. And that’s what we did.”

The Titans have struggled offensively recently, being shut out in two of the last three games. This time it was a team effort all around that secured a playoff win.

Callahan and Edmonds each scored for the Titans.

With the win, the team will face Arroyo in the second round. Arroyo took down Immaculate Heart 1-0, and the site is to be determined based on a pending coin flip. Valencia knows that the Knights will be a battle, and her team has a lot of room for improvement if they want to move on to the quarterfinal rounds.

“These girls all game came out with the will to win,” Valencia said. “They didn’t want to go home knowing the season would end. Today was a team effort. We now have the weekend to get ready and just work hard at what we do to get ready for Tuesday.”