The Paly varsity softball team defeated the Gunn Titans, 4-0 Tuesday afternoon for seniors Elena Stillerman and Kelli Fangonilo’s final Paly game.

The stellar pitching of sophomore pitcher Christie Cory allowed the Vikings to shut down the Titans. Cory only allowed three hits and one walk during the game and struck out eight batters.

After Cory shut down the Titans 1-2-3 in the top of the first, the Lady Vikings picked up two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Fangonilo walked to lead off, and sophomore Katie Barich singled, moving Fangonilo to third. Sophomore Nikki Remmel singled, but Fangonilo was thrown out at the plate. Cory singled, scoring Barich and Remmel, making it 2-0, Paly lead.

Paly racked on two more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Fangonilo tripled to deep left, and Barich singled to center, scoring Fangonilo, making it 3-0, Paly. A few batters later, Remmel came up and reached first on an error, scoring Barich. The score was 4-0, Paly.

In the top of the third, the Titans got their first of only three hits in the game. Sophomore Crystal Greenberg singled to right but was left on base after the next three batters were retired.

Fangonilo finished her last game on the Paly varsity team with a triple, a walk, and a few well-hit pop flys. Fangonilo has been on the varsity team since her freshman year and next year she will attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on a full scholarship to play Division I softball. Although she is going off to play college ball, Paly will always hold a special place in her heart.

"The most important thing is to believe in your teammates," Fangonilo said. "I’ll miss the girls the most. We have had so many fun, memorable moments."

Stillerman is going to Sonoma State University in the fall, and although she probably won’t continue her softball career, she won’t forget how much she loved being on the team.

"I’m going to miss the people," Stillerman said. "I made so many new friends, learned new things; I’m going to miss everything."

After the game, the two seniors were honored with an emotional ceremony, involving flowers, hugs, and tears. Stillerman and Fangonilo also had the opportunity to shave off assistant coach Fel Yacamp’s hair.

"Last week in practice we made a bet that if we won by two or more runs today they could shave his head," head coach George Fangonilo said.

The Paly team finished with a 8-8 record overall. Although they didn’t make Central Coast Sectional Finals, coach Fangonilo was proud of his team and is hopeful about next year.

"Today the team came out with attitude," he said. "They remembered how it felt to lose to Gunn and they didn’t want it to happen on their field. Next year they need to come out with this aggressive attitude and all of the young players need to step it up."