Talia Tokheim home run delivers Sequoia key win in quest for CCS softball postseason

Sequoia (10-4 PAL Bay, 17-6 overall) did just that, riding a tiebreaking two-run home run in the fifth inning by Talia Tokheim to a 3-1 victory on the final day of the regular season. It marks the third straight league win for the Ravens, after putting their postseason chances in peril by dropping two straight to Burlingame and Carlmont last week.

“We didn’t do ourselves any favors when we lost to Burlingame, and we knew the CCS implications,” Sequoia head coach Michelle Sarrail said. “Because, then losing to Carlmont, we had to beat Capuchino. So, we’re definitely looking at those standings, and looking at where those seeds are going to be. So, this was huge.”

In a showdown between the two top strikeout artists in the PAL, Sequoia left-hander Ainsley Waddell emerged the winner. Capuchino junior right-hander Nohemi Livingston entered the day ranked No. 7 in the CCS in strikeouts, according to MaxPreps.com. But Waddell was ranked No. 1 and showed why Wednesday.

Waddell didn’t have her normal strikeout stuff, totaling just four punch-outs in the game. But the junior set down the first 10 batters she faced, and after allowing some hard contact on a foul ball in the top of the second inning, she went on to strike out three Cap hitters in a row.

Otherwise, Waddell relied on some splendid defense, especially from junior shortstop Mackenzie Jackson, who totaled six infield assists, including several rangy plays in the late innings — a tough play going into the hole to fire a long strike across the diamond in the fifth, and a quick charging play on a soft infield bounder with two on and two out to end the sixth.

“She throws super hard,” Waddell said. “So, when she gets the ball, I’m like: ‘Yeah, she’s going to get the girl out no matter what.’”

The aggressive bat of Tokheim at the top of the Sequoia batting order accounted for all three of her team’s runs. In the first inning, Tokheim wasted no time, crushing a first-pitch fastball off the wall in left-center for a leadoff double. She later scored on an RBI single by Waddell.

Cap (8-6, 17-9) tied in in the fourth after finally getting some runners on base. Sophomore Elizabeth Do broke up the perfect game the hard way, getting hit by a pitch. Do then moved to second on a long foul fly to right, with right fielder Lilliana Santos making an impressive running catch, but Do capitalized by tagging up on the play to move into scoring position. Livingston followed with a two-out, RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.

But Tokheim flexed her muscles as the Ravens took the lead back in the fifth. After No. 9 batter Claire Sarrail reached on an infield error on a dropped pop-up to start the inning, Tokheim made Cap pay by crushing a two-run home run to left. It was the senior’s team-leading fifth homer of the year.

“I didn’t get all of it,” Tokheim said. “But I knew it was out and it felt good. It’s been a while.”

The Ravens looked to add on in the sixth, but after they loaded the bases with no outs, it was not the arm of Livingston, but the arm of catcher Avery Motroni that bailed the Mustangs out of trouble. The freshman catcher let it fly with her best Ivan Rodriguez impersonation, picked off two runners, first by throwing behind the runner at third, then a few pitches later doing the same to the runner at first.

“She’s a freshman so it’s exciting to see her getting comfortable in playing high school softball,” Cap head coach Tanya Borghello said. “It’s a little bit different than playing travel ball. So, she’s had a good season so far. It’s been nice to have her behind the plate.”

Motroni said her dagger throws are more instinct than strategy.

“She encourages me a lot to throw it around,” Motroni said. “But I have my own mindset as to when I want to throw it around and when I don’t.”

Tokheim finishes the regular season batting .449 with five home runs on the year, including a team-best 35 hits. Having batted at the bottom of the batting order for most of her career with her West Bay Warriors travel team, she has not only acclimated since moving to the top of the Sequoia batting order, she seems like a natural fit.

“She’s had to re-strategize where she’s hitting the ball, and who she’s moving up and why,” Sarrail said. “She’s been fantastic. Her offensive maturity has been off the hook.”