Clutch Hitting Leads San Marcos Softball to 4-3 Win Over Rival Dos Pueblos
by Diego Sandoval, Noozhawk Sports Editor
March 11, 2024 | 7:30 pm
San Marcos’ Kamilah Morales had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored in the win. (Lily Chubb / Noozhawk Photo)
In a rematch of Friday’s pitchers’ duel, San Marcos softball got their revenge on crosstown rival Dos Pueblos in yet another one-run affair.
The Royals came out on top over the Chargers by a score of 4-3 on Monday on San Marcos’ campus.
“The biggest difference (from Friday) was that home presence,” San Marcos senior Kamilah Morales said. “You love to be home, the team in general was really relaxed during practice and during warmups and I felt like we put [emotions] to the side and really focused on what needed to be done.”
While the end result went in San Marcos’ favor, Dos Pueblos kicked off Monday’s game in the same way they did on Friday with a pair of runs in the first inning.
Following three walks by the Chargers, senior Rylee Cathcart roped a single into left field to score sophomore Kacey Hurley and freshman Zella Cassidy and take a 2-0 lead.
“That first inning we had a couple runs scored again and we got together and said ‘we’ve been here, we’ve seen that from Friday’ and they were able to answer back,” Royals coach Emily Dietz said.
In fact, San Marcos answered back right away in the bottom of the first.
Following a double by senior Emma Foster and a pair of outs, Morales came up with her first clutch hit of the day in the form of an RBI single to cut the lead in half at 2-1.
It was also a rematch in the circle, with Dos Pueblos trotting out senior Georgia Wilson and San Marcos turning to freshman Lucy Dessert.
Wilson and Dessert each settled in after the first inning, as the game stayed at 2-1 until the bottom of the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Morales and Solana Sandoval each singled and advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch with one out, giving the Royals a strong opportunity to tie the game or take their first lead of the day.
Freshman Isabella Malarkey provided the game-tying hit with a single to right field and Dessert followed that up with an RBI groundout to give San Marcos a 3-2 advantage.
Isabella Malarkey slaps the game-tying single into right field for one of her two hits on the day. (Lily Chubb / Noozhawk Photo)
That lead didn’t last long, however, as Dos Pueblos’ Kaitlyn Ashby hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth inning to score Anastasia Brunner, who walked earlier in the inning, and tie the game up at 3-3.
“I’m really proud of the way we competed and fought today,” Charger coach Mike Gerken said. “Offensively we’re still growing, I think by the end of the season when we see that growth then these one-run games are going to go our way.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Tiana Monaghan stepped to the plate with two outs. The Chapman commit rolled a ground ball to second base and she was called out on a bang-bang play at first place. However, after further discussion between the umpires, she was ruled safe and the inning continued.
Kamilah Morales fires up the San Marcos dugout following her go-ahead RBI double in Monday’s win. (Lily Chubb / Noozhawk Photo)
Morales then had a chance with two outs and she took full advantage, knocking a double to the fence that scored Monaghan from first base and gave the Royals a 4-3 lead.
“It’s the kind of pressure you want to feel,” Morales said. “You want to come up, get the big hit, help your team in any way you can.
“And I was like ‘You know what, let’s do it.’ I got that pressure, I trusted myself, I was calm and I took it one pitch at a time.”
That run proved to be the game-winner, as Dessert buckled down in the circle and finished off the game for the Royals, registering a complete game and earning the win.
Dessert ended with seven innings pitched, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out a pair of batters.
“Lucy, for how young she is, has shown over and over again that she wants the ball and she wants to be in that circle and make the big plays and face all those batters,” Dietz said.
“It was a really good learning opportunity for her to see that even if your stuff’s not working, you can trust your defense, keep putting the ball in play and make things happen.
“She definitely settled down there towards the end of the game. I’m really proud of her, we’re going to need a lot from her this season.”
San Marcos freshman Lucy Dessert tossed a complete game to earn the win on Monday, working out of several jams. (Lily Chubb / Noozhawk Photo)
Offensively, Morales proved to be the difference after going 3-for-3 with a double, two singles, two RBIs and a run scored. Meanwhile, Emma Foster reached base three times and Malarkey had a pair of hits.
“Kamilah just works so hard and wants success so much, not just for herself but for everyone on the team,” Dietz said. “She felt pretty frustrated on Friday not producing as much as she knows she can. She was just clutch today, she had a fire burning today.”
In the other dugout, senior Georgia Wilson finished with six innings of work, allowing four runs on nine hits and striking out two.
“For four years [Georgia] has been fighting,” Gerken said. “This game is really, really important to her and she’s been working. We couldn’t get their No. 4 batter (Morales) out, she hit everything we threw at her. We tried all of our tricks.”
Georgia Wilson’s strong pitching kept the Chargers in the game for all seven innings on Monday. (Lily Chubb / Noozhawk Photo)
It was a big turnaround for the San Marcos offense, which managed just two hits off of Wilson on Friday.
“I’m really proud of their approaches today offensively,” Dietz said of her team. “Friday we were making a lot of contact but it was kind of going right at people and we made those little adjustments today and were able to put the ball in play more and get runners on.”
With the series split, Dos Pueblos and San Marcos now sit tied for third place in the Channel League with league records of 3-1, trailing a pair of undefeated teams in Oxnard (4-0) and Rio Mesa (3-0).
The Chargers will take on Santa Barbara High twice this week while the Royals will have an opportunity to gain ground on Oxnard with two matchups as well.