It came down to the wire Wednesday, May 19, with Murrieta Mesa (13-7, 10-2) taking victory on a dramatic walk-off single that sealed their victory over Temecula Valley (8-5, 7-5). The Lady Golden Bears got on the board in the fourth inning to take the lead with a home run by Kaitlyn Christie, but Murrieta Mesa scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning when Bella Flexen (2 for 3) tripled in the tying run with two outs, and Kaylee Oh followed with an RBI single.
The pitching was strong on both sides. Murrieta Mesa’s ace, Lacie Ham, who has 464 career strikeouts and counting, and is chasing the school record this season (539 set by 2018 grad, Autumn Pease), earned the win, striking out 15 batters, while Temecula Valley’s Jada Cecil had 13 strikeouts.
Just down the street, the Vista Murrieta was led by Maddie Pierce, who would not be denied at the plate, picking up four hits and leading Vista Murrieta to a 12-4 win over Murrieta Valley. Pierce singled in the second, singled in the third, homered in the fourth, and singled in the fifth.
The Lady Broncos got things started in the second inning when Leilani Gonzales drove in two runs with a double. Murrieta Valley attempted an attack when they scored four runs in the fourth inning, but Vista Murrieta still managed to pull out the victory, especially with an added homerun by Kanisha Anderson, who went for the long ball in the fifth inning.
The hard-hitting Lady Broncos collected 20 hits on the day. Pierce, Anderson, Sophia Romero, Samantha Ganaden, Maleea Gallaspy, Riley Whalen, and Penelope Foote each had multiple hits for Vista Murrieta. Alexa Yarbro led Murrieta Valley with two hits in three at bats. Taylour Spencer got the win for the Lady Broncos. The righthander lasted seven innings, allowing five hits and four runs while striking out eight and walking one.
The final game of the day saw the Lady Wolfpack beat Chaparral 11-1. Great Oak is 6-6 in league play, 8-10 overall, and the struggling Pumas remain winless on the season at 0-14. With three games left in Southwestern League play, Murrieta Mesa sits in second place, one game behind Vista Murrieta. The two teams will face against each other next week as the regular season comes to a close.
Southwestern League action heats back up Friday, May 21, with three games remaining for each team before playoff brackets get announced Saturday, May 29, at www.cifss.org.
Photos/sports scores/stats/highlights can be submitted to sports@reedermedia.com. Stats, standings, results provided by MaxPreps, Gamechanger, local ADs, fans of the game and the Valley News Sports Department.
