Vargas sacrifice fly wins it for Atwater softball

Marcy Vargas felt she had some atoning to do.

The junior’s three-base error in the top of the sixth inning on a misplayed fly ball didn’t end up costing the Atwater High School softball team, but it did put extra pressure on her team at a pivotal moment in the game.

Her first at-bat presented the perfect opportunity to make it up to them. With runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the seventh, the defensive replacement fought off a tough 0-2 pitch and then lofted a fly ball to center field. Maritza Iglesias tagged up and beat the throw home to give the Falcons a 1-0 victory over Pitman.

It was Atwater’s second victory in its final at-bat in three days.

“I really wanted to make that play up to my teammates,” Vargas said. “It was a little worse because I missed the squeeze on 0-1. I knew I just had to find a way to contribute. I fouled a ball off, and then she threw the next one down the middle.

“I wasn’t sure it was deep enough when I hit it. I didn’t even know we’d won until I saw everybody celebrating.”

The dramatic conclusion was a fitting finish after the almost flawless game turned in by each team.

It very easily could have gone a different direction with multiple delays testing the players’ focus. The game started almost an hour late because Pitman (8-4, 2-2 Central California Conference) experienced bus trouble. There was another 35-minute delay in the top of the sixth when the field umpire collapsed and was taken away in an ambulance.

The umpire ailment coincided with Vargas’ fielding mishap. With the wind swirling in left field, Vargas broke the wrong way on a Luhua DeLeon fly ball. Vargas recovered, but the ball glanced off her glove and rolled to the fence.

DeLeon beat the relay to third, with the throw kicking toward the Atwater (8-2, 3-0 CCC) dugout. It would have taken a good play to cut down the speedy DeLeon at the plate, but the home plate umpire called time to attend to his fallen comrade as soon as DeLeon was safe at third.

The umpire sat up and was talking to people before leaving in the ambulance.

Atwater starter Cheyenne Mahy fought through the ensuing delay and stranded DeLeon at third with a fly ball to end the inning.

“We have a crazy team that likes to have fun,” said Mahy, who allowed no runs and one hit while striking out 10. “So we kept each other pumped up during the delays.

“I know some of the girls on the other team from club ball and know how to pitch against them, so I was pretty confident we could get a win. I’ve watched Marcy in the batting cages, really working, so I had a good feeling when she came up.”

Dominant as Mahy was, Pitman ace Alexis Mettler was going pitch for pitch with her. The Pride senior had seven strikeouts and scattered three hits.

Mettler worked around a one-out Mahy double in the first and escaped the fifth unscathed after allowing the first two hitters to reach.

Atwater finally got to her in the seventh. Mettler got into trouble off the bat by hitting Iglesias. Eileen Martinez sacrificed her to second, and Alina Mendoza caught Pitman by surprise by dropping another bunt. Mettler fielded the ball cleanly, but no one covered third. By the time she threw to first, Atwater safely had runners on the corners to set up Vargas’ heroics.

“We always tell the kids anything can happen at anytime, and we’ve got to adjust with it,” Falcons coach Robert Santisteven said. “What didn’t happen today? But the kids never lost focus and found a way to win a tight ballgame.”

Merced 11, Buhach Colony 1 in Atwater – Megan Kravec homered twice and drove in four runs as Merced (8-2, 3-0 CCC) stayed perfect in conference play to set up an undefeated showdown with Atwater on Monday.

Turlock 8, Golden Valley 4 in Turlock – Christiane Grijalva had two hits and drove in three runs, but seven Golden Valley (7-5, 1-3 CCC) errors helped the Bulldogs rally for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth.

El Capitan 8, Modesto 1 in Merced – Cassie Gasper allowed one run and two hits while Eleanor Nelson homered and drove in three runs in a Gauchos victory.

Baseball

Chowchilla 20, Kerman 5 in Chowchilla – Pat Flanagan and Caleb Crow each doubled as the Redskins (9-0, 3-0 NSL) pounded 19 hits in a rout of Kerman.

Los Banos 6, Pacheco 0 in Los Banos – Chris Corral tossed a one-hit shutout as the Tigers (7-2, 2-0 WAC) completed a home-and-home sweep of the Panthers.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Vargas sacrifice fly wins it for Atwater softball."