Last Friday night, Yucaipa High – then ranked No. 4 in the FAB 50 high school softball rankings – defeated No. 1 Mission Viejo in a thrilling 1-0 pitching dual between All-Americans Brooke Bolinger of Yucaipa and Taylor McQuillin of Mission Viejo.

In this video, Yucaipa Head Coach Dave Kivett and Brooke talk about the win and what it means to the school and softball program.

One interesting note: Coach Kivett attended Yucaipa as a student and came back to teach there, which he’s done for 27 years!  He’s been the Thunderbirds head coach for 11 years.

The coach also speaks about the only run of the game which came when Thunderbird base runner Megan Martin attempted to score from second on a single by Jordan Green and initially appeared to be thrown out by Mission Viejo centerfielder Alyssa Palomino in a close play at the plate.

However, Martin, who appeared to hesitate at third base, came home on an obstruction call.

“Actually, she (Martin) did exactly what I wanted her to do,” the coach explained. “When Palomino first came up with the ball, I had the hold sign, so she was throttling down. When the throw was off line, I wheeled her back. And that was the reason we did what we did.”

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