La Habra Athletic Director and interim coach Paul Caffrey talks to the Highlanders after the win. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
Thursday’s CIF So Cal regional softball Division I semifinal game between St. Paul and La Habra had more twists and turns than a Formula 1 Grand Prix race.
Milee Valencia’s two-run single in the bottom of the seventh sparked No. 2 seed La Habra to an 8-7 walk-off win.
The Highlanders advance to Saturday’s regional final and will travel to Chula Vista to take on the No. 1 seed Mater Dei Catholic, which defeated Point Loma 7-4 on Thursday.
The final is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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Valencia, the second baseman, was mobbed by her teammates following her dramatic game-winning hit.
“I’m speechless,” said Valencia, a senior who is committed to playing for the University of Redlands next season. “I will never forget this game as long as I live. I was nervous when I came to bat in the seventh, but I kept telling myself that I have to find a way. I hit an inside-up fastball and that’s the pitch I was looking for. All I wanted to do is to do something to hep our team be successful.”
The Highlanders (25-8) began the seventh inning with a 6-5 lead. However, Swordsmen first baseman Robyn Guitron jacked a one-out, two-run homer over the left field fence, giving St. Paul ( 20-14) a 7-6 lead.
But La Habra would soon change the tide and send the home crowd into a wild celebration. Alyssa Hernandez led off the home half of the seventh inning with a slicing double down the right field line. Mireya Gonzalez followed by drawing a walk.
Georgia Rickenbacker singled up the middle to load the bases with no outs. Valencia then provided the fireworks by drilling a two-run single to send the Highlanders to their first regional final.
“I had a gut feeling that we were going to extend the game or win it in our last at bat,” said La Habra left fielder Makenna Caffrey, who was on base three times and had a two-run double that tied the score at 5-5 in the fifth inning.
“All game long our team was so loud and all the girls were screaming and we had so much energy.”
“These girls are never out of it; we get 21 outs,” said Highlanders interim coach Robert Morales. “These seniors that have been here for four years and have been such outstanding role models in leadership to the younger players. They helped change the culture of this program two year ago. They have been unbelievable.”
La Habra jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Alyssa Hernandez launched a there-run homer, her 12th round tripper of the season.
“The pitch I hit for a home run was up and in and it was what I was looking for, and I felt it was a home run when I hit it,” said Hernandez, who had two hits and scored two runs to go along with her three RBI. “I felt that this is my job and it’s also my last home game, so it’s extra special.”
Hernandez is committed to play for Siena University in New York next season.
The Swordsmen responded immediately in the top of the second inning with five hits and scored five runs. Mia Negrete, a transfer from Garfield High, blasted a two-out, three-run homer – her ninth blast of the season – to right center to boost St. Paul to a 5-3 lead. Negrete had three hits in the game, despite battling an illness.
“I had to sit out a part of the season due to me transferring, but I practiced every day with the girls,” said Negrete, who is committed to play at St. Mary’s next season. “We have such a beautiful team and I only wish I could have been out all season playing. We have so much energy.”
Samantha Cervantes came on in relief of Holy Cross commit Madison Payne to start the third inning and pitched well the rest of the way.
The senior right-hander, who is headed to play for the University of Jamestown next season, struck out three hitters and held the Swordsmen to no runs and two hits until the seventh inning. She got an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play to end the fifth inning and got out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning.
“I was tired at the end but I had so much confidence in my defense,” said Cervantes. “We had so much energy as a team and I just kept pushing myself.”
Highlanders junior third baseman Mireya Gonzalez made a slick back handed grab on a sharply hit ball in the fifth inning that started the 5-4-3 double play and pumped up La Habra.
“The double play came at a big time in the game; it gave us momentum,” said Gonzalez, who scored two runs and homered. As it happens so often, after a player makes a great play, they lead off the next inning. Gonzalez led off the the bottom of the fifth inning and hit a towering shot over the right field fence to give La Habra a 6-5 lead.
“I hit a middle-down fastball and I felt it was gone when I hit it,” said Gonzalez. “It felt great and to experience a win like this is exciting and it will carry over and help us next year as well.”
But St. Paul still had fight left and took a 7-6 lead in the seventh inning on Guitron’s two-run homer that set the stage for a dramatic finish.
St. Paul coach Charles Gandara was gracious in defeat.
“It’s the school’s first time ever in a state regional game; we have a lot to be proud of,” said Gandara.“We left everything on the field and the girls did the best they could do. La Habra is a D1 team and we battled with them.”
Eveny Gomez had two hits, an RBI and scored two runs for St. Paul. Jaylyn Villagrana also had two hits for the Swordsmen. Jazmine Villagrana came on in relief in the first inning for the Swordsmen and went the rest of the way.
Highlanders athletic director and interim co-coach Paul Caffrey said his team is resilient.
“After all that these girls have been through, losing a coach just before the playoffs and losing in the semifinals of CIF, they showed how resilient they are,” said Caffrey. “We won the a very tough Crestview League and they never made any excuses why they couldn’t do something. We haven’t played in 10 days and we were a little rusty today but they responded and now we’re going to the school’s first ever state regional finals.”
Notes:
—-La Habra lost to La Mirada in the CIF Division 1 semifinal game and St. Paul lost to Whittier Christian in the other Division 1 semifinal.
—Entering Thursday’s semifinal game, Mia Negrete led the Swordsmen this season with a .453 bating average. She also hit eight home runs.
—Alyssa Hernandez now has 12 home runs and 40 RBI for the season.
—La Habra defeated St. Paul 3-1 in a non-league game on May 6. Both St. Paul and La Habra advanced to the semifinals after receiving forfeit victories against their scheduled first round opponents (Murrieta Mesa and Bonita).
Both Gandara and Caffrey saidthat Murrieta Mesa and Bonita had contacted their respected schools and indicated that they didn’t have enough players to field a team in the first round due to girls playing on their travel teams.
—La Habra has seven players who have received college scholarships to play softball in college next season: Samatha Cervantes (University of Jamestown), Evelyn Dickerson (Pace University), Alyssa Hernandez (Siena University), Madison Payne (Holy Cross), Georgia Rickenbacker (Dartmouth College), Maraya Salas (Colorado State University Pueblo) and Milee Valencia (University Redlands).
—-St. Paul has five players who will be playing college softball next season: Audrey Prado/Southern Utah, Eveny Gomez/Mount St. Vincent (New York), Sunni Vazquez/Westcliff (Irvine), Robyn Guitron/Sacred Heart (Connecticut), Mya Beserra/Bethel College (Kansas).
—St. Paul second baseman Eveny Gomez made all three putouts in the third inning for the Swordsmen.
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