The Paly girls’ varsity softball team found success on both sides of the ball, handling the Santa Clara Bruins, 8-5, in its first league game on Thursday.
“That first win is a huge moral booster and gives us a hopeful determination for the rest of the season,” center fielder junior Pamela Wong said.
Starting pitcher Kelly Jenks threw a complete game and added offense for the Vikings. While she gave up three runs, Jenks was perfect through the first three innings and allowed her team to build a solid 4-0 lead, which proved insurmountable for the Bruins. She struck out eight batters over the course of the game.
“She pitched a hell of a game. A lot of times the batter didn’t even swing,” said assistant coach and Paly teacher Adam Yonkers. “She has really started putting in the time and the results are coming.”
Jenks started off strong, striking out the first three Santa Clara batters, and never stopped to look back. In the first inning, Viking junior catcher Allison Coleman drove in sophomore shortstop Lauren Bucolo after a hit and an error put Bucolo in scoring position. The Vikings found themselves comfortably leading 2-0 after Coleman stole third and went home on a passed ball when the dust settled at the end of the first inning.
With a Santa Clara runner threatening at third with two outs in the second, Jenks struck out her fourth batter of the game, bringing the Vikings back into their dugout. After sophomore third baseman Kristen Dauler was walked and sophomore first baseman Ryan Flanagan singled. the Vikings stole six bases to extend their lead, 4-0.
“The underclassmen are an extremely important new attribute to the team and they are really talented both offensively and defensively,” Wong said.
After neither team could produce a run in the third, the Bruins threatened to make a comeback in the third and fourth innings. The leadoff batter drove a triple into right field then came home on a past ball. First baseman Ryan Flanagan made an amazing catch to halt the Bruin momentum.
After outfielder Grace Stafford singled into left to start off the bottom half of the fourth, Flanagan drove herself and Stafford in with an inside-the-park homerun, upping the score, 6-1. The Bruin pitcher was replaced soon thereafter.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Bruins once again threatened to dismantle the Vikings’ lead. The Bruins compiled five hits and two runs, making the score 6-3. Minimal damage was inflicted on the Vikings as the bases were loaded when Jenks struck out a batter to end the frame.
“We weren’t pleased how we defended the lead [in the third and sixth innings],” Yonkers said. “We made some mental errors which can be attributed to the fact that some of the girls are playing out of position.”
When freshman outfielder Mariah Phillips reached on an error and freshman second baseman Gracie Marshall singled, the Vikings capitalized on the Bruins mistake. Jenks drove a double between the outfielders and the two baserunners came around to score, restoring the Vikings’ five-point margin, 8-3.
In the seventh inning the Bruins piled on another five singles. While two runners did score, Jenks once again minimized the damage and struck out two, leaving three runners on base.
“We are spending some time in the weight room, trying to get the girls stronger,” Yonkers said of the change in the team’s approach from last season. “We are mainly trying to improve our hitting because defensively were strong.
The Vikings play Cupertino this Tuesday in non-league action, then will go on to play league-rival Los Altos on Thursday.