Aztec softball brings the noise in playoffs

BARSTOW • Theresa Bickett may have been able to quiet the Barstow High School fans in the third inning on Thursday, but she got an earful from the crowd at the school in the seventh inning.

Chants and clapping filled the air in front of Barstow High School during the softball team’s meeting with Woodcrest Christian in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs on Thursday. The loudest cheering came from the section of the stands occupied by the Barstow High School football team. That was until Bickett, head coach of the Woodcrest Christian softball team, complained to the umpires saying that the football team was trying to distract her pitcher, Melanie David. Barstow’s athletic director Vince Williams asked the football team to cheer, but not when the pitch was being delivered.

“I felt it was affecting my kids, and I don’t think it’s against the rules to cheer, but if I can get something called my way to help the team I will,” Bickett said. “I thought they were yelling louder as she pitched intentionally.”

Bickett’s move worked to calm the crowd for the next four innings. However, Serena Winston brought the volume of the crowd back up when she went to the plate with two outs, bases loaded and the Aztecs trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Winston got two strikes against her early, but was able to stay alive with foul tip after foul tip during her at bat. Her perseverance paid off when she connected for a two-RBI hit that dropped in right field to give Barstow a 7-6 lead and the win.

“I was just thinking I got this,” Winston said. “This was the position I wanted to be in. I just wanted to keep getting contact. I was halfway to second base when I realized that we had scored two and won. I haven’t felt anything this good before.”

Winston’s hit was only the finale to an exciting game. The Royals and Aztecs fought back and forth during the game. Woodcrest Christian struck first with three runs off of five hits in the third inning, but Barstow responded with four runs in the bottom of the same inning. The Royals picked up another three runs in the fifth to regain the lead and held it until the end of the game.

Woodcrest Christian got offensive production from unlikely sources on Thursday. The Royals’ offensive leader this season Victoria Couch ended the game without a single run or RBI.  In Couch’s place Marissa Dominquez hit an in the park home run during the game despite hitting .115 on the season. Several other Royals hit deep balls that brought runs in during the game as well. A strong wind and lack of a right field fence helped carry several balls hit by Woodcrest Christian.

“The one thing I’m surprised with is how well they hit the ball,” Barstow coach Richard Johannsen said. “I thought they’d be OK, but you have a girl who hits like .100 hitting an opposite field home run. That’s unusual.”

Barstow’s pitcher Hannah Ulibarri had three strikeouts three walks on her way to pitching a complete game.

The Aztecs will next face the winner of South Hills and Azusa on Tuesday. The site of the game will be determined by CIF-SS after the games are completed and coin flips are done on Friday.

W. Christian        003     030     0    —    6 14 3
Barstow                004 0    10 2    —    7 14 0

Ulibarri and Saenz; David, Couch (4) and Hernandez. WP — Ulibarri. LP — Couch. 2B — Hernandez (W); Winston, Purdy (B). 3B — Garcia, Uribe (W). HR — Dominquez (W).