Ali Waltman, Los Banos softball fight through pain to beat El Capitan

Shortstop Ali Waltman’s back was so tight she could barely turn from side to side.

Left fielder Kailyn Neves struggled to put weight on her bad leg and Erika Rodriguez didn’t even make the trip from Los Banos.

The Tigers softball team literally limped into their final Western Athletic Conference game before a much needed spring break and gutted out a critical 3-2 road victory over El Capitan on Thursday. Waltman led the way, turning in a Kirk Gibson-esque moment when she belted a third-inning, two-run home run before gingerly trotting around the bases.

The Waltman bomb opened the scoring and Los Banos would never trail in a crucial league tilt. The victory gives the Tigers (7-11, 5-2 WAC) a two-game edge over the Gauchos (11-7, 3-4 WAC) for the league’s third and final playoff spot and keeps them one game behind frontrunners Ceres and Pacheco.

“It’s a huge win,” Los Banos coach Dustin Caropreso said. “Our starting shortstop could only DH because of her back. Our left fielder could barely run. We’ve got all kinds of kids playing out of position to compensate, but they still found a way to get a win against a good team.”

Waltman’s homer set the tone. With one on and two out, the sophomore turned on a fast ball. With a steady wind blowing to left, there was no doubt as the ball left the bat.

“I just went up and was trying to turn as hard as I could,” Waltman said. “It’s the first time in my life I didn’t enjoy running after a home run.”

El Capitan gave itself numerous chances to answer, leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the third and sixth innings. The Gauchos finally broke through on a Maricruz Munoz run-scoring single in the fourth.

Los Banos got the run right back with Bri Cascia scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth. Makenzie Webber brought the Gauchos back within a run in the bottom half of the inning, ripping a two-out RBI single to right and leaving runners at the corners. The rally came up short, however, as Los Banos catcher Savanah Valenzuela picked the runner off of third with a snap throw.

It was as close as El Capitan would get as it left nine runners on base against Brianna Flores (seven strikeouts).

“We got the kids on and had the hitters we wanted up there for most of the big spots, but couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it,” Gauchos coach Bobby Johnson said. “I like how the team is progressing, though. We never stopped fighting today.”

This story was originally published April 2, 2015 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Ali Waltman, Los Banos softball fight through pain to beat El Capitan."