Fountain Valley softball belts five homers to beat Sonora
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LA HABRA — Fountain Valley is back in the CIF Southern Section softball playoffs, this time with a different narrative but the same hope.
The Barons were the top seed in the Division 5 playoffs last year when their season ended one game shy of the program’s second CIF finals appearance.
Following that deep postseason run, the Barons did not boast a winning record until April 7 this season, but they have now won nine of their past 10 games.
Fountain Valley used a 19-hit, five-home run barrage, as the Barons blasted their way to a 17-6 victory over host Sonora on Tuesday in a Division 3 wildcard round game.
Center fielder Samantha Estrada, the second batter of the contest, got it started. She hit the first home run of her career, a line drive that skipped off the fence. She never saw it.
“I heard it hit the fence,” said Estrada, who had a game-high four hits for the Barons.
Estrada had plenty of company in terms of the offensive exploits. Seven Barons had multi-hit efforts, and all nine starters had at least one hit.
“It’s pretty awesome to have everyone contribute,” Estrada added. “It’s a team effort. We had the energy. Energy was great. Everyone’s hitting, [and] it just keeps it going.”
Fountain Valley (17-11), which started 8-10, won consecutive games for the first time during a seven-game winning streak, including a crucial two-game set against Edison. The sweep of the Chargers solidified the Barons’ playoff position as the fourth-place team in the Sunset League.
“The second one at home, I think, was the biggest of the two,” Fountain Valley coach Rick Aldrich said of the key league set against Edison. “That was a huge game for us. It’s kind of turned our tide and got our energy going in the right direction. Now, we believe. Everybody believes in each other, and we believe we can win this thing.”
Second baseman Kira Velasco homered twice and drove in five runs for Fountain Valley, which will remain on the road to face Del Rey League champion Santa Fe Springs St. Paul (21-6) in the first round on Thursday. Rain is expected in the forecast.
Fountain Valley held two two-run leads before falling behind 5-4 after the second. First baseman Makenzie Butt homered leading off the third to erase the deficit.
The Barons then manufactured three runs in the fourth, which included a pair of sacrifice-flyouts by catcher Camila Becerra and right fielder Kileigh Villalobos.
“We just try to stay productive and moving runners,” Velasco said. “I think all of our team would say the same. We would sacrifice an out for a run.”
Third baseman Veronica Moore also had a home run and two runs batted in for the Barons.
Butt and Villalobos each had three hits and drove in two runs. Designated player Jenna Bixler, shortstop Marissa Sardinas, Velasco and Moore all finished with two hits. Left fielder Delaney Mondino and Becerra each had one hit.
Villalobos also recorded two outfield assists to help out Courtney Kols, who fired consecutive scoreless innings in the third and fourth to allow the Barons to pull away.
First baseman Layla Albarran had a home run, a double and three runs batted in to lead Sonora (11-12, 6-4), which was the second place team in the Freeway League. Shortstop Julia Kearney also knocked in two runs.
It wound up a comfortable win in the end for the Barons, for all except perhaps their coach, who held true to a superstition born almost two decades ago when he was an assistant coach at Edison. Aldrich simply won’t allow himself to put on a sweatshirt during a game if he hasn’t done it by the third inning.
“If I don’t put it on by then, no matter how cold it gets, I won’t put it on,” Aldrich said. “I figure that it could change at any time. … Early in my coaching career, we were up by eight, and I put my sweatshirt on in the fifth inning, and we lost. I will never put my sweatshirt on again.”
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