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Now Aim for Sectional Title South Pas Major League Wins District 18 Softball Crown By Patrick McGrail After a whirlwind of games, the South Pasadena All-Star team for Major softball has its first sectional win under its belt after securing the Little League District 18 softball championship last week. South Pas faced off against Baldwin Park in just four innings last Saturday, becoming the first South Pasadena major division team to pick up a sectional win. Making history was fairly anticlimactic; the 16-1 victory forced the mercy rule. Alyssa Emerich pitched the four innings, picking up seven of the 12 outs on strikeouts. In contrast, not a single South Pas player struck out during the game. The local unit was scheduled to face the same Baldwin Park team for the championship at Granada Park in Los Angeles on Monday night after press time. The other three teams in the tournament dropped out. Momentum had been rolling for the local team, which had a huge conclusion to their regular season by clinching the Little League District 18 title just three days earlier. “No South Pas team in any softball division has won the title coming out of the loser bracket,” Assistant Coach Brant Dunlap explained. “History was made for South Pas softball.” South Pas was coming into the game as a major underdog. Working their way up from the losers' bracket, they were facing the very team that put them there in Temple City American. In addition, the team's top three pitchers were all unable to pitch that day. The burden fell on Allison Lee, who "pitched the biggest game of her life," Dunlap noted. By the fifth inning, the game was scored at five apiece. With the burden again on Lee, this time as she was up to bat, she bunted successfully to get to first. A Carly Dunlap sacrifice later took Lee home to break the tie. South Pas took an 8-7 lead into the bottom of the sixth and final inning. With two runners on base and two outs, a shot to left center put the game in a dangerous position, with the tying run being waved in to home and the winning run just behind. An Anika Renken-Lee-Josie Luck relay of throws caught the tying run at home plate, ending the game - and the tournament - in South Pasadena's favor. The game was the second consecutive victory over Temple City. As South Pas was coming from the losers' bracket, they knew that they needed two consecutive wins, whereas Temple City would have been declared the champion with just one. Emerich pitched that July 8 game, allowing five runs while picking up as many strikeouts. Despite Temple City taking the lead after the first inning, South Pas came back hard. The local team scored four runs in the top of the second and never looked back. When Renken combined with Madeline Chin to end the fourth on a double play, Temple City never recovered and never scored again. South Pas ended up with twelve runs to Temple City's eight in the 10-5 victory. Long odds were again in play during that game, which came just fifteen minutes - that's right - after South Pas qualified to be in the championship game. The local unit had found itself tied at twelve apiece in the July 7 South El Monte game when darkness ended play prematurely. The final two innings would have to be played the following day, with a fifteen minute break as Temple City watched to see who it would play for the title. Frankie Steimer pitched four innings, including the continuation, to get seven strikeouts and take credit for the 17-12 win. Lee pitched two innings with two strikeouts of her own. "No South Pasadena softball team has played three games in three days," Dunlap observed - let alone win all three. The local team aims to carrying its momentum toward a sectional title, allowing them to go to the divisionals. |
South Pas Falls Twice in Bid for Senior League District Title After forcing an ‘if needed’ championship game, South El Monte handed South Pasadena a 13-5 loss last week to win the Little League Senior Division championship. One night earlier, South El Monte beat the local unit 11-4 to force another game between the two foes in the double elimination tournament at Arroyo Park in South Pasadena. In the finale on Wednesday, July 9, South Pasadena sent Tony Veiller to the mound for the second time in the tournament. South Pasadena drew first blood in the top of the first, as Brendon Perry and Dylan Trimarch both walked and Perry scored on a passed ball. South El Monte came back with one of its own to tie it up in the bottom of the frame. South Pasadena then got to work in the third. Dylan Trimarchi and Tyler Ryan reached on errors and Tony Veiller walked to load the bases with two outs, bringing Derek Eisen to the plate. Eisen then cleared the bases with a shot up the middle to knock in 3 runs, putting the Tigers up 4 to 1. South El Monte wasted no time striking back with 5 runs of their own in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 6 to 4 lead. South Pasadena then added one run in the fifth to bring the Tigers within 1. However, just as it looked like the local unit would come back, South El Monte pulled away by scoring three runs on a pair of home runs to go up 9-5. Ka Zeng relieved Veiller on the hill in the middle of the 5th and completed the game. South Pas shut down for the reminder of the contest mustering only one more hit by reserve player Matt Ravenalle. In the end, the Tigers were out-hustled by a hungry South El Monte unit, which overcame South Pasadena on their way to the Little League District 18 title.
South El Monte 11 South Pasadena entered this one at the top of the winner’s bracket, needing only one win to lock up the district championship. South Pasadena sent Derek Eisen to the hill. After throwing a complete game one hit shut out in game one of the tournament, Eisen hoped to repeat the trick and lead his team on to the District 18 title. However, this game went very differently. South Pasadena struck first, scoring one run on singles by Dylan Trimarchi and Tony Veiller, and assisted by a run scoring wild pitch; compliments of South El Monte. South El Monte hit back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. South Pasadena then responded with two more runs in the top of the third, as Corey Richards reached on an error followed by a Patrick Martin double. Tyler Ryan then drove in Richards on a fielder’s choice ground ball, and Martine scored on an Eddie Kim single. South Pasadena found itself up 3-2 when things took a turn for the worst. The South Pasadena squad totally collapsed in the bottom of the third, allowing 7 runs on 3 hits and 6 errors to put South El Monte up 9-3. Tyler Ryan took over on the hill in the middle of the third and did a fine job in relief. South Pasadena scored one more run in the 4th on an Eddie Kim single and a sacrifice fly by Dylan Trimarchi. However, after that, the Tigers could only muster a couple of singles by Brandon Perry and Derek Eisen, and South El Monte never relinquished the lead; holding the Tigers down with sound pitching and stellar fielding to force the ‘if needed’ championship game. |
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