One pitch from elimination, St. Francis rallies for thrilling NorCal win
MOUNTAIN VIEW — St. Francis was down to its last strike. Sophomore Jaime Oakland, two-time West Catholic Athletic League MVP, 0-for-3 on the day, was at the plate with the Lancers on the verge of being upset at home in the opening round of NorCals for the second year in a row.
The count went 2-and-2 and Oakland fouled off a pitch. Then she fouled off another, barely getting a piece of it and topping it in the dirt by home plate. But on the next pitch she saw one up in the zone and got a hold of it. She drove it to deep center for a run-scoring double as May Meltz scampered around with the tying run.
On the brink of despair, St. Francis was still alive.
That brought shortstop Peyton Tsao to the plate, the No. 3 hole batter. Tsao went into the game with a .404 batting average and 19 extra-base hits. She worked the count to 3-and-2 before hitting a pitch on the outside corner to right field. The Rocklin right fielder dove for the ball and came up with it.
Oakland streaked home with the apparent go-ahead run while the Rocklin side screamed that the catch had been made for the third out. The umpires conferred and came out of their huddle making the ruling that it was a trap.
Game over. Walkoff 3-2 win for St. Francis.
“I really felt she was at least going to hit the ball hard at somebody,” St. Francis coach MIke Oakland said of Tsao. “And she did. I just had a good feeling about that one. Once (Jaime) got the double it kind of popped the bubble a little bit. I think we were a little more relaxed in that last at-bat.”
No. 3 seed St. Francis (28-3) advances to play at No. 2 Del Oro on Thursday in a Division I semifinal.
“That was awesome, this group of seniors doesn’t want to stop playing together,” Oakland said. “They know this is their last week and they want to extend it as long as they can.”
No. 6 seed Rocklin jumped out to the lead in the top of the first when Katie Wetteland, the third batter of the game, hit one over the center-field fence for her 12th homer of the season.
The Lancers tied it in the third. Catcher Malianna Liongitau led off with a single. Pinch runner Aryka Gunsager took second on Meltz’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Maya Yumiba’s line-drive single to left-center.
The score stayed 1-1 until the sixth when Rocklin scored a run that appeared like it might end St. Francis’ season. Addie Titlow hit a one-out single and Wetteland was intentionally walked. Savannah Lorenzini singled home Titlow and starting pitcher Ava Bulanti was replaced by freshman Blanka Fisher, who managed to pitch out of the jam with no additional runs scoring.
St. Francis came up for what could have been its last at-bats of the season in the bottom of the seventh, Meltz hit a one-out single and stole second. Rocklin pitcher Payton Prior struck out Yumiba for the second out, bringing Oakland to the plate.
“I’d never seen her before those first three at-bats, but I felt confident knowing that one base hit could change the game,” Jaime Oakland said. “I fouled off a couple and then got that one pitch down the middle.”
That brought Tsao up in a tie game.
“Once she got on I had a lot more confidence that I was going to do it, do it for the team,” Tsao said. “It means so much to win this game because I get another day to play with my seniors and see how far we can go.”
And to get the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh …
“It’s absolutely a dream,” Tsao said.
A dream come true.