Mills routs Half Moon Bay, deadlocked atop PAL Ocean softball race

Not exactly, not after Mills’ 10-3 win Monday afternoon on the Coastside. With the win, the Lady Vikings (6-1 PAL Ocean, 6-5 overall) moved into a first-place tie with HMB. The two teams meet again Wednesday in Millbrae in a showdown for outright control of first place in the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division on the line with five league games to go.

“This was our biggest game of the season,” Mehta said. “… and now Wednesday is our biggest game so far. Whoever wins it controls it.”

In its most important game of the season to date, Mills came out swinging. Senior Aaliyah Stuart set the tone, and calmed the nerves of her teammates, drilling a three-run home run to center field. It was the first home run of Stuart’s three-year varsity career.

“They were excited,” Mehta said. “They were jumping up and down. I think that was a big hit. Scoring those three runs set up the whole game. … That was a big, big jumpstart.”

Senior starting pitcher Adyson Kim benefitted most from the jumpstart and went on to whirl a gem. The senior allowed three runs, though only one run was earned, and all three came in the seventh inning with Mills already holding a substantial lead. Kim allowed just two hits and walked five while striking out five.

“A lot of inside outside pitches and her changeup was working good,” Mehta said. “You can see it toward the end she was getting tired. Otherwise, she would have had a shutout game.”

In beginning with six scoreless innings, Kim got some help from a smooth defensive play by second baseman Khloe Lagunte. The senior had made an error on the previous play, putting a HMB baserunner at first But Lagunte soon made up for the miscue, turning a crafty double play on a sharp grounder up the middle. Lagunte ranged right to get in front of the ball then pivoted left to reach across and tag the baserunner before throwing to Nicolette Moreno to turn the double play with a bang-bang play at first.

“That was huge because we only had one out and the error before that … had kind of put a damper on the mood,” Kim said. “But I think her picking herself up and getting the momentum back in our direction was very crucial.”

The Vikings knocked the ball around the yard to the tune of 12 hits. Kim was 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and three runs scored. Freshman Morgan Chu added three hits with a pair of doubles and an RBI.

Moreno produced a clinching swing of the bat in the seventh inning with a two-run single.

“That was big,” Mehta said. “It pushed our lead to 10 runs.”

HMB (6-1, 6-6) scored on a two-run single by Emily Chavez and pushed one more across on an RBI Angelina Yeakley.

With their 12-hit day, the Vikings pushed their season average over .300, now batting .302 as a team.

“We’ve been hitting it pretty good this season but today was definitely pretty special,” Kim said. “I think the extra pressure and intensity that was brought because [of playing for first place] was a factor in our high-scoring game.”