“This game was for her. There’s no doubt about that.”
Sophomore Kristen Kolegraff said that she and many of her Dos Pueblos softball teammates “had been a wreck” earlier in the week after learning about the tragic death of JV shortstop Lindsay Rose, but the Chargers found a way to put aside the grief and play an inspired game Friday, beating visiting Santa Barbara 10-0 in six innings.
Rose, a 15-year-old freshman and avid surfer, died Sunday, four days after being found floating in the water off of Sands Beach by other surfers. She had played soccer with Kolegraff, and the two attended the same elementary school.
“She definitely made everybody laugh… She always had a smile on her face,” said Kolegraff.
Rose’s dad, JV head coach Don Rose, was presented with flowers and a card by Santa Barbara’s players before the game. The Dons also presented the Chargers with a signed poster offering condolences.
DP coach Donn Roberts said that the team had been in shock after learning the news, prompting a cancellation of Wednesday’s game against Rio Mesa.
“This was the first chance for us to get back into it. It was good to see Coach Don out here, and it was good to take a breath. It’s just one day at a time,” said Roberts, who thanked Santa Barbara High for showing so much class.
Once the first pitch went out, the much-improved Dons held strong against the traditionally dominant Chargers, and the game was in a stalemate until DP’s Krista Martony brought home Kolegraff on a sacrifice fly with one out in the fourth. Amber Altavilla and Jada Alexander would each nab RBIs before the inning was over to make it 3-0 DP.
Freshman Hannah Harris started the game in the circle for DP, finishing with five strikeouts and a walk while only allowing two hits through four innings. Senior Shelli Sibbert took over from there and completed the shutout, putting down the Dons in order except for a walk of Sarah Leads, who nabbed a double and a single for the Dons’ only hits. The speedster also stole three bases on the day.
Raindrops fell periodically during the game, and the sun also poked through in the sixth inning. But it kept pouring for the DP offense, which scored its final seven runs on a monster two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Eleven batters came to the plate for the Chargers before the mercy rule kicked in.
“Definitely our errors on defense with two outs killed us today,” said Dons (4-7, 0-3) coach Becky Penrose. “I was really proud of our play, that we were able to stick in there and hang with them. I felt our defense was solid at first but then we just beat ourselves in the end. And their bats also turned on. DP’s a good, experienced team and we can’t have errors if we want to play with them.”
The Chargers (5-6, 2-2), meanwhile, played an error-less game highlighted by two stellar defensive plays in the outfield.
Karina Amaro made a leaping catch over her shoulder in the fifth, and Kolegraff held on to a sixth-inning fly ball in left center despite colliding with Andria Castagnola as she made the catch. She raised her hand up to display the ball with a big grin on her face.
Just how Rose would have wanted it.
DOS PUEBLOS 11, SANTA BARBARA 0 (6)
Santa Barbara…000 000 — 0 2 2
Dos Pueblos……000 307 — 10 7 0
Neilsen-Robbins and Lopez. Harris, Sibbert (5) and Martony.
2B — SB Leads, DP Kolegraff.
