“Today was an important game.”
Keyed by a run-scoring triple in the first from center fielder Stephanie Ziemann, the Falcons jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead and appeared well on their way to a lopsided victory.
But Crescenta Valley, ranked second in CIF Southern Section Division III, might very well have gotten a bit overzealous at the plate after the first-inning barrage.
“I think we were too psyched,” said Ziemann, who went three for four with two runs batted in, two runs and a stolen base. “[When we play Arcadia] we get a little too excited sometimes.”
Still, Crescenta Valley led the entire game.
Reigning All-Area Player of the Year Ashleigh Viers-Gordillo, who went two for five with two runs, led off the game with the first of her two doubles. She’d come home on a wild pitch before Alyssa Sovereign came around on Ziemann’s triple to make it 2-0. A single by Caitlyn Cox, who had two hits and two RBI, scored Ziemann.
With usual clean-up hitter Lainey DePompa not playing for undisclosed reasons, Ziemann moved up to the No. 4 spot and certainly delivered.
“Pretty much just go up and hit,” she said of her mindset. “It was a little more exciting.”
Arcadia countered with two runs in the first and another in the second after an RBI single by Ziemann and a run-scoring double by Cox had made it 5-2.
The double was a controversial one, as Cox sent a high shot to left field that looked to skim off the left fielder’s mitt over the fence. The left fielder also ran through the fence, knocking it down. The umpire ruled the play a double rather than a home run despite Berry’s argument.
