It felt like Valencia’s day to shine from the get go.
Tigers shortstop Emily Salazar roped a double to the right field fence on the game’s opening pitch and scored three batters later on an illegal pitch.
Right-hander Miranda Hillman kept Pacifica’s lineup in check throughout, surrendering her first hit in the fourth inning and keeping the Mariners off the scoreboard until the fifth thanks to several highlight-worthy plays from each of her three outfielders.
But great teams find ways to win ball games – specifically the tight ones – and that’s precisely what No. 6 Pacifica proved on Tuesday afternoon.
Tied in the bottom of the seventh inning with a runner on third, Mariners junior Hannah Haro lined the winning single to right field, scoring Alani Nguyen to secure a 2-1 win over upset-minded Valencia in an Empire League game at Pacifica High.
“Anytime you get into league and games you think you’re going to put some runs on, you don’t,” Mariners coach Mark Campbell said. “We didn’t have very much energy… (The girls) were kind of just going through the motions and before you know it, it’s the seventh inning and it’s 1-1.”
The Tigers (9-10-2, 0-1) led 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth when Nguyen led off with Pacifica’s third hit of the game. The freshman right fielder stole second and was driven home with two outs by senior center fielder Dejah Muilpola to tie it up.
The score remained knotted into the seventh after Valencia corner outfielders Christina Hurtado and Desiree Guzman each made run-saving diving grabs to keep the Mariners off the board in the sixth.
“That is the way I expect us to play,” Tigers coach John German said. “We have the capabilities to play with anybody … Miranda pitched extremely well and we played virtually flawless ‘D’.”
Junior Hannah Boos scattered only four hits over seven innings for Pacifica Mariners (9-3, 2-0). Salazar and Hillman each went 2 for 3, but the rest of the Tigers lineup went 0-for-18 against the talented righty.
The Mariners open play in the Michelle Carew Classic on Wednesday night at 5:15 p.m. against California of Whittier.
In the Garden Grove League:
La Quinta 9, Rancho Alamitos 8: Cami Hohneker and Emily Erdhart combined for four hits and five RBI, and Taryn Nadeau notched three base hits and crossed the plate three times to give the Aztecs (11-5, 1-0) their first win over the Vaqueros (5-9, 0-1) since 1983.
In nonleague games:
Savanna 3, Sonora 1: Kristin Worley went 3 for 3 and scored two runs, Sam Kennedy was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI and Shyanne Fennell tossed a five-hitter for the host Rebels (16-1-1).
JSerra 11, Calvary Chapel 0: Noelle Doan blasted a solo homer in the fifth, Cameron Cecil added a double and a triple, and Caitlin Lewis tossed five shutout innings for the Lions (7-9-1).
Rosary 9-9, El Dorado 5-4: The Royals (12-2-1) swept a doubleheader against the host Golden Hawks (3-9), scoring nine runs in both outings. Sophomore Nicole Siess drilled a two-run home run in the first game, and Marcy Moran and Katelyn Christensen came up with clutch base hits that scored three runs in the second game.
