Led by an aggressive performance from a culmination of players, the San Marcos softball team eked out a last minute victory over Ventura in a riveting 2-1 affair at home on Wednesday.
The game came down to the final inning when Veronica Villarrreal struck the game winning hit that scored Cara Christian, who went 2 for 3 on the day. The Royals’ first run was scored by Aliyah Huerta-Leipner, who was effective on both sides of the ball as she went 2 for 3 at the plate while pitching five innings in the circle.
Hailee Rios also had some key contributions as she finished the day batting 3 for 4 from the plate, driving in one runner, pitching two innings, and striking out three batters.
“This was a big win for this team. Our kids really wanted this game and put the pressure on Ventura by getting runners on base every inning,” said coach Jeff Swann. “Senior Veronica Villarreal really came through in her final regular season game at home, and on senior day, by making several key plays on defense and coming through in the clutch in the 6th inning with what turned out to be the game winning RBI.”
Swann also credited his pitchers saying, “Hailee and AJ were super effective in the circle limiting a good hitting Ventura team to just 5 hits with only one ball leaving the infield after the 1st inning.”
San Marcos improves to 16-10 while Ventura falls to 9-12.
