No. 1 Mission Viejo goes extra (5/31)
No. 1 Mission Viejo goes extra (5/31)
The top team in the nation, Mission Viejo (Calif.), was battling not just for the CIF-Southern Section Div. 2 softball championship Friday night at Bill Barber Stadium in Irvine, Calif., but also for a National Championship as a win would likely cement a final No. 1 ranking in the FAB 50 ratings.
The Southern Calif. team, led by junior All-American pitcher Taylor McQuillin (Arizona commit), had never won a CIF softball championship and to do so would have to go through the two-time defending champs from Chino High and an equally outstanding pitcher Miranda Viramontes (Utah).
The match-up resulted in one of the best games of the year, if not recent playoff action.
Scoreless after seven innings, the game went into the ninth and both pitchers had faced the minimum number of batters. Only one hit—a leadoff single by Chino’s Amanda Brashear to start the game—had been allowed and she was erased on a double play.
In the top of the ninth, McQuillin struck out two of her 17 in the game to put the Diablos in a position to win.
Allison Harvey led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk and with one out McQuillin grounded to short, but the ball was bobbled putting runners on first and second.
Chino decided to intentionally walk powerful slugger Alyssa Palomino (Arizona) to load the bases and bring up Kayleen Shafer, who stroked a single up the middle to give Mission Viejo the 1-0 win.
“It means so much,” Shafer told Carlos Arias of OCSidelines.com. “We worked so hard for this all year. I think getting knocked out early the past two years has just been motivation for this year. We were so focused. Our whole motto this year was ‘All In.’ Everything we did was all in. I think that really helped us.”
“I knew they were going to walk Alyssa to get to me and I just wanted to make it hurt,” Shafer said. “I was just looking for a pitch to drive and I just got it.”
Both pitchers ended up allowing only one hit in the nine innings of work and, amazingly, the game started with a single and ended with one for the only offense provided all night in what will go down as one of the greatest championship games in CIF history.
“Last night was a great game and a game where every athlete wants to be,” said McQuillin. “Chino is an amazing team and Miranda is an amazing athlete. She did such a great job last night. Our team has been working so hard for this moment to come all year and we left our hearts out on that field.”
“I’m so proud of my team and everything they have accomplished and it’s great to be part of the team that made school history.”