By Patrick Dillon
Special to the Sun-Gazette
Lindsay – After a successful season the 14-13 (10-5) Lindsay Cardinals found themselves making the playoffs once again.
With a second place finish in the East Sequoia League, to undefeated Sierra Pacific, the Cardinals earned the 13th seed in the D-V playoffs. Their opponent was a familiar one: the 4th seed Kern Valley Broncos. Who two years ago eliminated the Cardinals from the playoffs, when a Cardinal runner was given the green light to steal home and was tagged out, ultimately giving the win to Kern Valley 2-1.
This game had all the buildup of another instant classic and because of a CIF ruling the Cardinals had home field advantage. A rarity but the Cardinals looked to capitalize putting their sophomore ace Danielle Jauregui on the mound.
The Broncos countered with D-I prospect Ashley Yasin, who has received offers from school such as Kansas.
“Great pitcher,” said Lindsay head coach Izzy Torres about Ashley Yasin. Coach Torres made some adjustments to get some more hits but the Cardinal batters just could not catch up to her speed.
In a game with so much pitching power it came down to an errant throw in the top of the third inning by Lindsay’s Jenessa Martinez. That one throw allowed the Broncos to take the lead and secure the win 4-0.
“This one as a coach it’s tough to swallow because we worked so hard,” said Torres. “I keep playing that error back and forth in my head.”
The game still scoreless the Broncos loaded the bases with two walks and a batter that was hit by a pitch when Yasin stepped to the plate.
Hitting a ground ball to Lindsay’s third baseman
Joanna Perez, Perez immediately threw home to get the force out. Martinez then turned to relay to first but the ball sailed out of her hand and into the outfield. Two Bronco runners came in to score and Yasin reached third.
A triple to right by the next batter Jessica Alvarez scored Yasin. Then a single brought in Alvarez to give the Broncos the final score.
Lindsay’s base runners were few and far between throughout the course of the game as only one baserunner made it to third.
“The better team won today and that was Kern Valley, “said Torres.
With the season coming to an end the Cardinals are losing five seniors due to graduation. Including Maryah
Garza, who is taking her talents to College of the Sequoia.
“My seniors came together,” said Torres. “My seniors brought this team together. That’s why I feel like I let them down.”
However, the future looks bright for the Cardinals looking to return five juniors, three sophomores and a freshman. Now all have varsity and playoff experience and look to make a strong push next year.
