South City swings past El Camino in rivalry win

The 5-11 Quintanilla is wiry strong and swings a lightning fast bat. Hitting in the No. 2 spot, she is off to a fantastic start through her first nine varsity games, leading the Warriors in batting average while slashing .615/.694/1.192 on the year.

“I’m very proud of the team,” Quintanilla said of Tuesday’s win. “It’s always a team effort, it’s not just one person. But my swing, it was getting there.”

The Warriors (2-0 PAL Ocean, 5-4 overall) batted around in the first inning, a rare sight despite chiseling out a .397 team batting average this season. The first four batters reached base, with a leadoff single from sophomore Sydney Semans, Quintanilla reaching on an error, and sophomore Miley Salvatore and senior Maggie Bergesen taking back-to-back walks.

“Really strong through the middle of the order, top of the order too,” South City head coach Dana Donnenwirth said. “They’re probably our most disciplined hitters, most experienced, best at finding that pitch that they can really do something with. And it really shows in those stats.”

From there, it was a carousel of 10 batters getting to the plate in the inning. The Warriors batted around thanks to a two-run single from the No. 9 hitter, freshman Phoebe Oseguera.

“The team’s doing really well now being selective, kind of getting that right pitch that they can drive, instead of just swinging at anything that looks decent that they can hit,” Donnenwirth said. “Kind of convincing them: ‘Get that good one that you can really do something with.’” So, they’re doing a much better job being disciplined at the plate and then really getting power into their hits now.”

Junior Liala Kinchen added two hits with a double and four RBIs, while senior Shiloh Semans and Sydney Semans also had two hits apiece.

Sydney Semans earned the win in the circle, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, two walks and a hit batsman, while striking out two. Her record improves to 4-3.

El Camino (0-2, 1-4) generated single runs in the second and fourth. Senior Mahealani Keani set the table in the second by flipping a triple down the right-field line. She then scored on a RBI single by Patricia Vasquez. In the fourth, Juliana Escobar drew a one-out walk, then came around to score on an RBI single from Alyssa Rueda.

For the Lady Colts’ first-year head coach Aubriana Campbell, building the program is a priority. A 2013 graduate of El Camino, Campbell saw a decent showing with 18 players trying out for the team this year. She even had to make two cuts. Still, the deep varsity roster has a lot of inexperience.

“A lot of new girls,” Campbell said. “I think a majority of our team is first-time softball players and, so, just a little more work to do this year. They’re going to be all right.”

Campbell got her first varsity win March 15 in the Colts’ 10-6 win over Lincoln-SF, in just her second game ever at El Camino’s on-campus softball diamond that opened in 2021.

“The turf is obviously much safer for them,” Campbell said. “We played at [Sunshine Gardens Elementary School] where there was potholes every five steps. So, this is a much nicer facility than we ever had back in the day.”

Quintanilla new to rivalry

For the freshman Quintanilla, traveling to rival El Camino was a much shorter trip than she’s accustomed. After playing travel softball for several years with the Nor Cal Blast, she now plays with the Ripon-based Batbusters 18-and-under travel team. She also travels to Oakland for hitting instruction at VIA the Zone.

As for the rivalry, it was a chance to catch up with old teammates for Quintanilla, who used to play Nor Cal Blast softball with Izabella Totah, at the San Mateo-based Warrior Academy with Juliana Bazlamit, and South San Francisco Youth Baseball with Jenna Bollentini and Kiya Mas.

“I’m a freshman, so it’s still new to me, the rival,” Quintanilla said. “But it was very exhilarating, and I got to see a lot of friends because we all separated. So, it was really fun seeing familiar faces again, and I love playing with them.”

That’s right, Quintanilla is a former youth baseball player. She said she was one of just three girls in a league composed predominantly of boys. Still, it was a difficult decision to make the transition solely to softball, she said.

“It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to pursue,” Quintanilla said, “and I tried to do what was best for me. And I know being a woman in baseball is very difficult. So, I felt like softball — I was making the adjustments, and I just pursued softball instead. ... It was a tough decision, though. Leaving all my years of baseball, where I started, until I had to make a switch.”