Turlock proves its no longer a pushover in softball

The last four years most Central California Conference softball teams could count on three easy wins when it came time to play Turlock.

The Bulldogs were overmatched, compiling a 5-55 conference record since 2011.

Don’t count on Turlock being a pushover anymore. The Bulldogs opened up CCC play with a gritty 8-4 win over Buhach Colony on Wednesday afternoon.

After watching a three-run lead evaporate, Turlock (4-3-1) rallied late to tie the game with a run in the sixth inning and then pushed across four runs in the seventh with big hits from Madi Mayol, Sophie Mayol and winning pitcher Mariah Gonzalez.

“Our team, they don’t quit,” said Turlock coach Jill Ogden. “We can give up a run or make a defensive miscue and we’re not going to quit or panic.”

The turnaround can be attributed to the Bulldogs’ youth movement with three freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup. The three freshmen – Jessie Miranda, Kelly Weber and Sophie Mayol – combined to score five runs and recorded four RBIs.

“You have to give them credit, they’ve made huge improvements,” said Buhach Colony coach Becky Gibson. “They’re pitching better and hitting better. They’re not the same team as last year.”

Meanwhile, Buhach Colony (0-5) is hoping not to switch roles.

The Thunder battled back from the early three-run hole with some big two-out hits in the fourth inning. Dyonne Vargas smashed a two-run single and Kaelee Lynch followed with a blooper to right to plate Vargas to tie the game at 3-3.

Buhach Colony kept the momentum in the sixth inning as Dre Granado led off the inning with a double. Granado scored on a Tia Strak grounder to shortstop to give the Thunder a 4-3 lead.

“We really needed a win today,” said Lynch, who had two hits. “We were in it. We got back in the game and we were right there. It just sucks that everything happened that last inning.”

The Thunder lead didn’t last long as the Bulldogs turned a leadoff walk into a run – for the third time in the game – in the sixth inning. Sophie Mayol drew the walk, stole second, was bunted to third and scored on Gonzalez’s single.

“Our motto this year is do your job,” Ogden said. “The leadoff batter’s job is to get on base. We don’t care how. We missed some bunts today but we were still able to get runners over.”

Miranda led off the seventh with a bunt single. One out later, Weber hit a pop up behind first that was dropped and Miranda avoided a force out at second when the throw was dropped. The Mayol sisters made the Thunder pay as Madi singled in Miranda and Sophie followed with a two-run single to give the Bulldogs a 7-4 lead.

Gonzalez added another run-scoring single to extend the lead to 8-4.

“A win would have boosted our morale around here because we’ve been struggling,” Gibson said. “We’re working at practice, but we’re still seeing some of the same errors happening. We’ve definitely got to improve in our hitting and making errors in certain situations.”

Pitman 11, Golden Valley 1 in Turlock – Alexis Mettler pitched a two-hitter and collected three hits, including two triples and drove in three runs for the Pride.

Shyan Crutcher accounted for the Cougars’ lone run with a solo homer in the fourth inning.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Turlock proves its no longer a pushover in softball."