Hillsdale freshman sends Knights to NorCal D-III softball championship with walk-off heroics
SAN MATEO – As gusting winds swirled around Hillsdale’s softball field and a soft Thursday evening golden hour light began to bathe the turf diamond, freshman Giuliana Brum patiently worked a full count with the bases loaded and the score tied in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The righthanded infielder had taken three wayward pitches for balls, and fouled off another trio in search of an inside fastball.
The seventh offering by Liberty-Madera’s pitcher was exactly that, and Brum poked a ground ball past the right side of the infield to score Mia DeMartini and send the top-seeded San Mateo program to the NorCal Division III title game with a 3-2 semifinal victory.
“I was at a loss for words, and then my whole team just comes running up to me and gives me a big hug,” Brum said about her stunned reaction upon reaching first base.
The Knights will play host to Cardinal Newman for the regional crown on Saturday.
Hillsdale, which beat San Mateo in the Central Coast Section Division II final and had a first-round bye in NorCals, enjoyed a lead for most of the game.
Ania Aleshi scored in the first inning on a Taylor O’Mahony RBI, and Knights pitcher Lola Jones cruised for the next few innings.
The Hillsdale sophomore pitched all eight innings, striking out nine and allowing just five hits against a Liberty squad that was coming off a Central Section Division III championship.
“She slowed her game down. She attacked batters, and threw what she wanted to throw and what felt strong,” Hillsdale coach Eryn McCoy said. “She wanted to get the job done.”
Jones’ teammate Sophia Shelton scored on an error-assisted little league home run in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead.
Their opponent would not go away, though. Liberty’s Leilah Uriarte turned a stolen second base into a run when Hillsdale committed a pair of errors, and then Trinity Cervantes tied the game with a double to left, a ball that was kept inside the fence only by the wind.
The Knights were unfazed by this sixth inning setback, with McCoy crediting the team’s up-and-down regular season for preparing Hillsdale.
“We say ‘Find a way to get it done,’ and that’s what they did,” McCoy said.
Jones locked back in the following two innings, keeping Liberty off the board and giving Hillsdale (20-9-1) a chance to win it in the eighth.
Shelton led off the inning with a single to center, and DeMartini and Jones were each walked intentionally to load the bases and set up the force at any base.
Liberty was able to get one out at home via groundout, but were unable to solve Brum.
“As a freshman, that is so much pressure to be under, and I couldn’t be more proud of her,” McCoy said. “She kept it simple, and she put the ball where it needed to be.”