Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Hillsdale’s Lola Jones

Not only did the Lady Knights deliver a CCS softball championship with their May 31 win over crosstown San Mateo in the Division II finals. Saturday, backed by Jones’ three-hit shutout pitching masterpiece, Hillsdale reached the pinnacle by claiming the CIF Northern California Division III crown with a 1-0 walk-off win over Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa.

“It was unexpected,” Jones said of Hillsdale’s quick ascent to Nor Cal glory, “but I would say it was a really, really great surprise.”

Jones has earned the final Daily Journal Athlete of the Week award for the 2024-25 school year by virtue of her remarkable pitching performance. The sophomore right-hander allowed just three baserunners on the day — a leadoff single by Nicole DiMarco in the first; a single by Jordyn Johnsen in the fourth; and Cienna Alvarez’s two-out single in the seventh — but didn’t allow anyone to reach scoring position in the contest.

All told, Jones faced just three over the minimum, and was the picture of efficiency, needing just 68 pitches to record the complete-game victory.

“I think she knew everything was working,” Hillsdale head coach Eryn McCoy said. “Her movement was great, her speed was great, and she was beating batters. ... She was shutting them down, and I think that was really keeping [her teammates] going.”

Still, when Jones walked off the mound after the top of the seventh, the scoreless game was still hanging in the balance. Cardinal Newman senior Callie Howard was spinning a gem in her own right, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the inning.

It was a tough spot for the Knights, who didn’t fare well in one-run games during the regular season. Hillsdale was 2-4 in one-run outcomes, including going winless in three 1-0 games. Jones and company bucked that trend in the Nor Cal tournament, however. In last Thursday’s semifinals, Hillsdale walked off in the eighth inning with a one-run victory, 3-2, with Jones matching her career-high workload with eight innings of work.

Saturday’s dramatic win marked the Knights’ first 1-0 victory of the year.

“Early in the season, a lot of us coming off of other sports, we had to get some of that rust off, especially with our bats,” Jones said. “We were all just able to have team at-bats and were able to progress the team. ... All those 1-0 losses really pushed us to say: ‘What do we need to do better?’”

The answer to question, after the Knights finally got into the hit column Saturday, was ultimately: small-ball.

Tactically, Hillsdale had few chances to manufacture opportunities, with just two previous baserunners in the game. Heading into the bottom of the seventh, however, the heart of the batting order was due up. So, prior to the inning, Jones, the cleanup hitter, huddled up with No. 3 hitter Mia DeMartini and 5-hitter Taylor O’Mahony.

“We basically had a conversation: ‘Believe in yourselves, believe in each other, and we can hit! We can make this happen!’” Jones said.

DeMartini responded by breaking up the no-hitter with a leadoff double. Then Jones looked down to third base and saw something she’d never seen before. The team’s season leader in home runs and RBIs was given the bunt sign.

“I haven’t bunted all season, but my coach gave me a bunt sign,” Jones said. “As my job was just to get the bunt down ... and with Taylor coming up, I knew she would be able to execute and she would be able to score Mia.”

The extra 60 feet proved paramount. O’Mahony followed with the game’s second hit, a line-drive comebacker clipping the glove of Howard. It was just enough of a window for DeMartini to score, ahead of the throw home, with a headlong slide.

“I was immediately just filled with joy,” said Jones, who was watching from the dugout. “I was so happy. ... We really all wanted to win for our seniors, and win for everyone on the team, and when we saw Mia dive in at home, it was kind of a full-circle moment. ... It was a great way for us to just end the season, all celebrating and smiling.”

The walk-off win capped a legendary postseason pitching performance by Jones. Through five playoff games — three in the CCS tournament, and two in Nor Cals — she posted a 5-0 record while allowing just three runs on 19 hits, 10 walks and one hit batsman, while striking out 46 through 34 innings.

“This does not happen ... without Lola Jones, period,” Hillsdale athletic director James Madison said. “And that is not to take away from the coaching staff, the players or anything. But she has obviously put in a ton of work at Hillsdale and away from Hillsdale, up to this point, that has prepared her for these moments.”

Now, it is Jones and her softball teammates who will be honored at Hillsdale’s next championship ring ceremony.

“I was really hoping that at some point in my high school career that the team would be able to win a championship,” Jones said. “And I knew going into my freshman year, I already knew a bunch of the talent on the team. ... It was just a matter of building chemistry ... and that’s what really pushed us to win these last two championships.”