The San Mateo softball team consists of five sophomores and six freshman. Despite their youth, the Bearcats have proven to be a good team, heading into Thursday’s home game against visiting King’s Academy.
And San Mateo has proven to be resilient so far this year in compiling nine wins in their first 12 games. That resiliency was display against the Knights Thursday, as the Bearcats kept answering the Knights’ offense with that of their own.
Until the seventh inning. San Mateo led 5-3 going into the Knights’ final at-bat. But King’s rallied for three runs for a 6-5 lead and then held off another potential San Mateo rally in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
“They battled. They battled hard,” said San Mateo head coach Robert Burley of his team. “We’ve been doing that all year (rallying from deficits). For young girls, they’re resilient. We don’t play young.”
The Knights are the newcomers on the Bay Division block, part of the group of five West Bay Athletic League teams that merged with the Peninsula Athletic League prior to this season. If there were any questions the Knights belonged in one of the toughest leagues in the Central Coast Section, you only need to look at the Knights’ resume: they went 20-3 last season and earned the No. 1 seed in the CCS Division I bracket. Their pitching ace, Katia Nesper, is heading to Northwestern on a softball scholarship and they graduated only three starters from last yeaar’s team.
But Nesper had the day off and the Knights’ normal No. 2 pitcher was dealing with a shoulder injury, so King’s head coach Mark Street turned to his No. 3 — Mia Bennette, who is normally a shortstop and known more for her bat and defense than her pitching.
“She’s a beast at the plate,” Street said as she went 4 for 4 with a double and a run scored. “She’s a great athlete. Her heart is way bigger than anything.”
King’s (2-1 PAL Bay, 6-3 overall) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, with Ava Thompson plating a run on a groundout. But San Mateo prevented more damage by later throwing out Bennette at home to end the inning.
San Mateo (2-2, 10-4) came right back with a run in the bottom of the inning. Demi Alfonso drew a one-out walk and stole second. She went to third on a groundout to bring freshman first baseman Aliyah Scheller to the plate. On a 2-0 count, Scheller pulled a pitch into the hole at shortstop. The shortstop backhanded the ball, but she took a beat to collect herself and throw across the diamond.
The throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, but Scheller beat the throw anyway to pick up an RBI and tie the game at 1-all.
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The Bearcats scored twice in the bottom of the second. Kimi Cormier blooped a one-out single to left, followed byDestina Zhou, who hit routine grounder to second base. The second baseman fielded the ball, looked to second first before trying to get the out at first, but Zhou beat the throw. That turned the lineup over and brought up leadoff hitter Alice Han, whose hot shot off the pitcher gave her an infield hit and enabled Cormier to score. Alfonso followed with an RBI single to left to put the Bearcats up 3-1.
San Mateo did a great job of cutting off a delayed double steal in the third inning, with Alfonso cutting off a throw to second to fire home to catcher Cormier to get the runner at third in a rundown before getting the tag and ending the inning.
King’s cut its deficit to one with a run in the top of the fourth when senior Bella Giles drove in her sister, sophomore Sophie Giles, who had singled with two outs and stole second.
But San Mateo got the run right back in the bottom of the fourth when Han got a two-out single which was misplayed for a two-base error. Now at third, Han scored on a wild pitch to put the Bearcats up 4-2.
The Knights cut the deficit in half again when Sophie Giles led off the top of the sixth with a double and scored on an Audrey Bennette single.
Once again, the Bearcats answered back. Han — who had two singles, a walk and two runs scored — led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk. She stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Alfonso’s infield hit, a hot shot off the pitcher’s glove that trickled to shortstop.
That set up the Knights’ final comeback. The Bearcats, however, put a bit of a scare into the Knights. Celia Hernandez opened the bottom of the seventh by reaching on an error, followed by a walk to Rachel Warner.
After a strikeout, the Knights got the lead runner at third on a fielder’s choice for the second out and popout to center ended things.
“Great back and forth game,” Street said. “Both teams battled. … tip your cap to both teams.”
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