El Capitan softball goes hitless in Sac-Joaquin Section playoff loss

The El Capitan High School softball team knew what it was up against Tuesday evening in Benicia ace McKenna Gregory.

The Gauchos had video on her and had an assistant coach fire pitches at practice to prepare for Gregory’s velocity.

It didn’t help.

Gregory dominated the No. 12 seed Gauchos, striking out 15 in a no-hitter to lead No. 5 Benicia to a 1-0 victory in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

“I think the biggest thing is we didn’t adjust to her speed,” said El Capitan ace Cassie Gasper, the tough-luck loser. “She was the fastest pitcher we’ve seen all season. Preparing to face her in practice and then seeing her live is a little different.”

According to the Gauchos’ scouting report, Gregory liked to work the outside corner with her fastball.

Gregory and Gasper had a wide strike zone, as the umpire called strikes on pitches 6 to 8 inches off the outside corner.

“We didn’t adjust,” said El Capitan coach Chela Moreno, whose team finished 14-8-2. “We knew all week long who we were going to face. We knew she was going to throw outside and fast.”

Gregory struck out 10 of 11 batters from the second inning to the sixth.

Meanwhile, Gasper kept the Gauchos in the game. The right-hander started strong with five strikeouts in two innings. She had to adjust her approach after she injured her right little finger in the second inning.

A Benicia player stepped on her finger when she dived back to first base after El Capitan’s Ariana Valenzuela popped up a bunt attempt. Her finger swelled, but Gasper finished the game.

“It was pretty bad,” Gasper said. “It hurt, but we don’t have any other pitchers. What am I going to do? I have to throw. It’s the playoffs. It’s our last game. I just gave it everything I had.”

Gasper allowed five hits and struck out eight. She pitched out of some tough jams, but Benicia (19-5) was able to push across the only run in the third inning.

Olivia Mackey led off the third with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. One out later, Mackey moved to third on an infield single by Annika Johnson. Chelsea Mari then hit a fly ball to right to score Mackey.

That was all Gregory needed as she retired the final 18 hitters. Gasper was the only hitter to reach base, on a second-inning walk.

Despite the loss, there weren’t any sad faces for the Gauchos, who made their playoff debut in just their second varsity season.

“I’m so proud of our girls,” Gasper said. “Just this season they’ve come so far. We’ve worked hard every day in practice, and we made the playoffs in just the third year since our school opened and second year of playing varsity. We only have two seniors. This was a great season.”

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 8:20 PM with the headline "El Capitan softball goes hitless in Sac-Joaquin Section playoff loss."