Their first playoff game went in the win column for Escalon, the girls topping No. 11 seed Galt in a Tuesday, May 17 contest in Escalon. The final was 4-3, with the number six seed Lady Cougars now moving on to face off against number three seed Orestimba on Thursday, May 19 on the road in the Division 4 playoff bracket.
Earlier, the varsity girls ended the regular season with a pair of Trans-Valley League victories, Escalon’s varsity softball girls defeated Riverbank and Ripon. That gave them a league record of 8-4 for the season, finishing in third place. They were 16-10 overall.
The JV girls, meanwhile, defeated Riverbank on the road but lost to Ripon at home.
For the varsity, it was a 12-0 win at Riverbank on May 10. Brooke Davis and Madison Hagglund combined for the six-hit shutout.
“Tulsa Carnes hit her sixth homer of the season,” noted head coach Jeff Borden. “Macie Vickers was 3-for-4 with five RBIs and Faye Hernandez had two hits.”
Then it was on to Senior Night, Thursday, May 12 as the pre-game ceremony in Escalon featured congratulations for the Ripon seniors and their coach, who has been with the team for 18 years. Escalon’s seniors were then highlighted, presented with gifts and a bouquet of flowers, escorted to home plate by family members, taking time for a photo op.
It was all business after that, however, and though Escalon fell behind 2-0 on a two-run homer over the left field fence in the top of the first, they came back to tie it up on RBIs from Macie Vickers and Tulsa Carnes and eventually went on to a 6-3 win.
With Ripon threatening in the top of the second, a runner stole second and was in scoring position with one out. But the next batter hit a screaming line drive that was nabbed by shortstop Lucy Allbaugh, who then tagged the runner trying to dive back into second for an unassisted double play to end the threat.
Escalon built up a 6-2 lead and allowed a run late, but held on for the victory, handing Ripon its only loss in TVL play this season.
“The four seniors were a big factor in the win,” Borden said. “Brooke Davis got the win and contributed a hit; Tulsa Carnes was 2-for-4 with two RBIs including a double. Madison Hagglund was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Soleil Gouzenne anchored our defense in center field.”
JUNIOR VARSITY
At Riverbank on May 10, the Escalon JV girls prevailed with an 18-15 victory. Isabella ‘Bella’ Silveira pitched five innings with five strikeouts and Madison Pilture caught five innings. The two combined on a major play at the plate where they made an out on a steal. Pilture also threw out a runner trying to steal second and added a triple and a double. Amanda ‘Mandy’ Alderidge played well at second and had a hit, Genevieve Casazza played solid shortstop and had four singles. Isabella Grant fielded well at third and contributed two hits.
Against Ripon, the girls took a tough loss, as the visitors outscored them by plenty of runs in the contest, the final game of the season.
Silveira was on the mound again and had five strikeouts; Alderidge played both second base and then caught a couple of innings while Isabella Grant played third and first.
Head coach Amanda Vanderwall said the team ended the season with six wins and eight losses.
“We’ve had a lot of challenges this season, however, I’m really proud of how much they’ve grown and what great attitudes they’ve kept through it all,” she said of her players.
