LIONS TAKE DOWN THUNDERBIRDS IN POSTSEASON OPENER: The @jserra.softball team began its’ postseason push with a 3-2 victory over the Yucaipa Thunderbirds in a CIF-SS Division 1 first round game on Thursday at JSerra Catholic High School.
JSerra put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning.
Sophomore Annabel Raftery slashed a double to the wall in right field to lead off the inning.
Senior Zena Edwards reached base on an infield single that advanced senior pitch runner Ava Geoghegan to third base and subsequently stole second base.
Freshman Magenta De Arte followed with bloop single to shallow left center field that scored Geoghegan, with a Thunderbirds` error also allowing Edwards to score.
The Lions added to the lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Junior Anneke Lukowski reached on a bunt single with one out, and advanced to second base on a groundout by freshman Ava Born.
Raftery followed by driving a pitch into left center field for an RBI double to score Lukowski and give JSerra a 3-0 advantage.
Yucaipa cut the deficit to one run in the top of the fourth inning on a two-run homerun and put the tying and go-ahead runners on base in the sixth inning.
But senior Liliana Escobar shut the door on the Thunderbirds by striking out two of the final four batters to close out the win.
Escobar’s complete game victory (her 14th win of the season) included nine strikeouts to bring her season total to 218.
With the win, the Lions improve to 21-8 on the season.
JSerra will take on the winner of Friday’s Division 1 first round game between Charter Oak and Ayala in a second-round contest on Saturday.
A Charter Oak victory would send the Lions on the road to battle the Chargers, while an Ayala victory would result in the Lions hosting the Bulldogs.
#lionnation #jserrasoftball #jserraathletics
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