Cornejo web gem helps Pacheco softball extend its season

Elizabeth Cornejo has had trouble getting on the field.

The Pacheco sophomore entered Friday afternoon’s regular-season finale with just one appearance in the Panther’s lineup in the three weeks since the team went to Las Vegas for a spring-break tournament. Cornejo didn’t let that bother her, continuing to work hard in practice and earning her way into the starting lineup for the biggest game of the season.

The center fielder made the most of it, making a season-saving play by chasing down a Cassandra Augustine line drive that looked destined for the gap. Cornejo covered a lot of ground to deny the Tigers a pair of runs, and then had the presence of mind to fire a frozen rope to second to double up Jasmine Sanchez, ending the threat. Pacheco never yielded the momentum the rest of the way and managed to extend its season with a 6-3 victory over their crosstown rivals.

The win leaves both squads at 6-4 in the Western Athletic Conference, tied for the league’s third and final playoff spot. A one-game tiebreaker will be played Monday to decide who advances. Panthers coach Charlie Pikas won the coin toss after the game, electing to host the contest, but choosing to be the away team in the game. The first pitch is set for 4 p.m.

“I was kind of surprised to start, but at the same time, I know I’ve been working really hard in practice,” Cornejo said. “I didn’t think I could get to it off of the bat. It took a couple steps after the ball was in my glove for me to be like, ‘Wow, I actually caught it.’ Everybody was pretty excited in the dugout. I got a lot of, ‘Good job, good jobs.’ ”

The web gem came on the heels of Pacheco (12-15) taking the lead for the first time.

The two squads exchanged runs in the first inning on a Emily Lonetree (2 for 3) run-scoring single and a Yosselin Castillo (3 for 3, 2 RBI) RBI double.

The Panthers went in front in the bottom of the third with a clutch two-out single from Addy Costa (2 for 3). With runners on second and third, Costa sent a ground ball back up the middle. Los Banos shortstop Aly Waltman made a great diving stop on the play, but the ball popped out of her glove when she hit the turf, allowing both runs to score.

Some bad defense threatened to let the Tigers (14-10) right back into the game in the fourth.

Lonetree blooped a single to center and Savannah Valenzuela moved her up with a sacrifice bunt. Amber Aguilar followed with a bunt of her own, putting runners on the corners when an errant throw got away at first. A dropped fly ball allowed Lonetree to score and put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one out.

Augustine looked like she was going to make the errors hurt when she laced a ball into right center. Cornerjo robbed her and then ended the threat by completing the double play.

“Talk about a player taking advantage of the opportunity she’s given,” Pikas said. “I’d told the girls there were a few spots up for grabs if someone wanted to step up and take them. Liz has done that with her work in practice.

“All we were looking for was a chance to keep our season going. I’ve said from the beginning, six league wins looked like what it would take to get into the playoffs. For a long time it looked like that was going to be tough to get to, but the kids dug deep and got it done. They hit the ball well today and have given us the chance we were looking for. Whatever happens Monday is just gravy.”

Pacheco, who only managed three hits off of Los Banos starter Kiara Azevedo in their first meeting, used that many extra-base hits to break the game open in the sixth.

Alia Garcia (2 for 3) opened the sixth with a lead-off triple. Samantha Jacquez doubled her home. Castillo followed with a run-scoring single to chase Azevedo. Victoria Aguirre then doubled in Castillo to give the Panthers a 6-2 lead.

Pitcher Autumn Randles made the lead stand up. The junior right-hander allowed just three hits after the opening inning, one of which was an Azevedo (2 for 3) RBI double in the seventh. Randles shut the door after that to seal the win and guarantee at least one more game.

“They wanted it more today,” Tigers coach Mike Greenwood said. “We popped too many balls up. We didn’t have great approaches at the plate. It’s just a disappointing effort. Not much more to say.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2017 at 9:48 PM with the headline "Cornejo web gem helps Pacheco softball extend its season."