Aragon wins first CCS playoff game since 2010

The No. 3-seeded Dons (19-6) rolled to a 7-3 win over No. 14 Everett Alvarez-Salinas (17-9-1) Friday at College of San Mateo. It marked Aragon’s first win in a CCS playoff game since 2010. And Fletcher was the star, striking out 13 to improve her record to 14-5.

“She was mixing the speed, hitting the corners perfectly,” Aragon head coach Roger Miller said, “and she works harder that any pitcher I know. She’s an incredible individual.”

The senior right-hander was in the zone, setting down 14 in a row at one point. She surrendered an infield single in the first and didn’t allow another base runner until the sixth inning.

“From the second I tied up my cleats I was like, ‘I’m in this. Let’s go win this,’” Fletcher said.

Fletcher’s rise-ball and changeup were a combination Alvarez just couldn’t solve. In the sixth inning, Alvarez senior Aliyah Robles produced all her team’s runs with a three-run home run that, at the time, cut Aragon’s lead in half to 6-3.

Not that Miller was worried, knowing his daunting lineup is capable of creating thunder at will.

“The defense is so good and I knew hopefully we would score some more runs,” Miller said. “We’ve got an incredible offense this year, there’s no doubt about it. So, every time they come to bat, I kind of expect one or two (runs) to be honest with you. There’s just such power on this team and we have very, very good speed. So, when they’re on, we’re going to be hard to beat.”

The Dons went deep twice, including freshman Liv DiNardo, as Fletcher’s battery mate got her team on the board with a first-inning solo blast to right field.

In the second, Aragon scratched out an unearned run on a throwing error. Then in the third, junior Makaila Tuakai flexed some more Aragon muscle, scorching a line-drive home run to center to up the lead to 3-0.

In the fourth, Aragon added three more. The bottom of the order set the table with a bloop single by Siulolovao Folau and a bunt single by Samantha Kennedy. Junior Shannon Galliano followed with a one-out double to plate Folau. Then with two outs, freshman shortstop Megan Grant socked a two-run single to center.

Fletcher, all the while, was cruising along in the circle. She went on to work seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits.

One of four seniors on the roster, Fletcher is committed to play at University of South Dakota next season. She’s a San Mateo native, and has only made two trips to South Dakota, both on official visits to the campus. She does, however, already talk with a country twang in her voice, something she said friends sometimes tease her about.

Aragon is in a position to establish a prominent softball era, with its No. 3 and 4 hitters — DiNardo and Grant — both freshman and only looking to get better. Miller said he had no problem turning the reins over to a freshman catcher to start the year.

“From Day One, I saw her work ethic and her arm, and how she takes charge of the field when she’s catching, the way she barks out orders to everybody,” Miller said. “She’s just a total professional. From Day One, I knew she was going to be the starting catcher. And the bat as well.”

And the Dons’ winning ways have come as no surprise to their young backstop.

“I feel this year we kind of expected to get pretty far,” DiNardo said. “With our team, not putting pressure, but ‘You guys can do it,” because we have a really good mix of juniors, sophomores, and we have three or four freshmen this year. So, we’re just doing what we can to make the team the best we can this year.”