Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division softball is probably as top-heavy as it has ever been in recent memory, so when a middle-of-the-pack team such as San Mateo faces a squad at the bottom of the standings in South San Francisco, the Bearcats have to take care of business.
And that's exactly what they did Wednesday, easily defeating the visiting Warriors, 11-2. San Mateo (1-2 PAL Ocean, 2-5 overall) quickly made this a runaway, scoring six times in the bottom of the second inning. Candice Pochini led off with a solo home run to right field. Anna Keilo singled and Alyssa Boardman walked, and Mace Keilo followed with a two-run double.
Ashley Mason's RBI single made it 4-0, and the Bearcats scored two additional runs on a couple of South San Francisco (0-3, 0-6) errors.
That was all Boardman would need. San Mateo's ace pitched a complete-game, five-hitter, with 12 strikeouts. The Warriors scored their only runs in the fifth, on a Heidi Roman triple and Alesandra Baldando single. But that was all the South San Francisco lineup could muster.
San Mateo had already scored twice more before the Warriors got on the board, on RBI doubles from Macy Pogue and Pochini in a two-run fourth. The Bearcats added three more in the sixth, as a combination of wild pitches, passed balls and errors allowed San Mateo to break things wide open. Bearcats coach Randy Boardman feels his team did just what it was supposed to do, and is looking for consistently solid performances.
Recommended for you
"If we can play like this, I'd like to think we can be right up there (with the top teams in the Ocean Division)," he said. "We're a young, up-and-coming team. There are a number of girls who have improved and will continue to improve."
Utilizing a fastball, curve, rise and change-up, Alyssa Boardman was on point, displaying excellent movement on her pitches while changing speeds to keep the South San Francisco hitters off-balanced. Siao Malepei led the Warriors with two hits, both singles. Christina Ramos added a two-out triple in the first. San Mateo's defense was led by third baseman Elisa Pineda, who made a solid play on a groundball to throw out Regina Dinapo in the top of the sixth.
Since Boardman took over as San Mateo coach three years ago, the team has added batting cages, an equipment shed and a real softball field to play on, he said.
"We still have a ways to go," Boardman said, "but I feel we're going in the right direction."
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.