Softball team beats Oceanside, loses to Del Norte, Valley Center
By Bill Tamburrino
The Ramona High School softball team beat Oceanside at home and lost to Del Norte and Valley Center on the road.
The Lady Dawgs are now 3-2 in the Valley League and in third place. Ramona is 13-12 on the season.
When Oceanside tied the score at 1 in the top of the fourth inning, coach Robin Brainard decided it was time to challenge the team. Brainard intercepted the team as they came off the field before they could get in the dugout.
“It is about heart. We are not playing to the best of our ability. It has to come from right here,” said Brainard, tapping on her heart.
The team must have listened. The Bulldog girls scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth and four more in the fifth and posted a 7-1 win.
Julie Ward got the start and got credit for the win. Ward went four innings and gave up one run on four hits and struck out four. Alissa Hiener pitched two innings in relief and did not surrender a run. She gave up one hit and fanned four. Kailey Hill pitched one inning and did not allow a run or a hit and fanned two.
Adrianna Johnson paced the offense with a 2-for-2 day with a double and three RBIs and a run scored. Hill hit her seventh home run of the season in the fifth inning as she had two hits in four trips and three RBIs. Christina Barrameda and Ward both hit doubles. Amber Davis and Ashley Pittman contributed singles.
Hill and Dana Cruse hooked up in a classic pitching duel at Del Norte High School (15-8, 5-1) as both hurlers scattered 11 hits apiece in the game. Del Norte scored on a suicide squeeze in the bottom of the 11th inning to hand Ramona its first loss of the year.
Hill went 10-plus innings and gave up three earned runs. The junior ace struck out an amazing 20 Nighthawks.
Jazmin Simone ripped four singles and scored a run. Davis had three hits and an RBI. Barrameda and Johnson both had two hits apiece and both scored a run. Kenzie Wright had a single and an RBI. Bre Hirsh had a pinch hit single.
“It was a great game but it was a very tough loss. Kailey struck out 20, which is a good season for some pitchers. We put the ball in play and only had seven strike outs but we just couldn’t catch a break,” said coach Cori McDonald.
Hill pitched another strong game against league leading Valley Center (15-3, 5-0) but the Lady Dawgs could not score a run off Emma Sloman who only struck out three batters and let her defense make plays. Only two Bulldogs made it to second base off of Sloman.
Hill gave up two runs on five hits and struck out nine to give her 31 strike outs in the week.
Johnson, Barrameda, Ward, Davis, Hirsh, and Wright all singled in the game.
At the end of the first round of Valley League action Ramona is 3-2 and still has a mathematical shot at the title.