ANAHEIM – For the Loara softball team, Friday’s game against Segerstrom was supposed to be a day of celebration, and it started out as such. The team honored its four seniors before their final home game, and a win would have clinched a second straight Golden West League championship.
The Jaguars, however, crashed the party.
Anabel Mendez and Brenda Medina hit back-to-back solo home runs in the first inning, and Segerstrom defeated Loara, 5-1, to move into a tie for first place.
The loss snapped a streak of 21 consecutive league wins for the Saxons.
“It’s big for us,” Segerstrom coach Yvonne Alonzo said. “We knew this was to tie for the championship. We’ve got to go take care of our business now with two games left. We’re up for it. We’ve got ourselves where we want to be.”
Segerstrom starting pitcher Alexandra Mendoza threw a complete game and allowed only four hits. She stranded 10 runners on base, including seven in scoring position.
“She stayed within herself,” Alonzo said. “She’s not a big strikeout pitcher, but she gets us ground balls, and I know I have good kids there that can field everything that comes to them.”
After the two home runs in the first inning, the Jaguars (18-4, 7-1) scored two runs on three hits in the third inning. They scored another run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Alejandra Morales.
Loara (17-8, 7-1) scored a run in the fifth inning on a single by Elisa Ledesma.
Morales went 2 for 4 with a triple, a run scored and a run batted in.
“She’s been a great lead-off hitter the last three years,” Alonzo said. “She’s fast, she can put a bunt down and she can hit to all fields. It’s nice to have here at that spot.”
