San Marino High’s softball team looked to continue this season’s strong start against nonleague opponents with a home matchup against St. Lucy’s Priory High School.
Against the visiting Regents, the Titans could not stop the visitors or get going themselves, falling 19-5 in a game shortened to five innings due to run differential on March 8.
“I don’t think we played to our potential,” San Marino coach Scott Edmonds said. “I think we were not focused.”
It was the first nonleague loss of the campaign for San Marino, which had won its first two nonleague games against Rio Hondo Prep and Glendale before dropping its first two league matchups.
“I know that [San Marino] didn’t play as well as they could and I think we played as well as we could,” St. Lucy’s coach Scott Fisch said.
As much as it was the play of St. Lucy’s (2-3-2 overall), many of the Titans’ wounds were self-inflicted.
“We walked nine and had 10 errors. That is 19 free runners,” Edmonds said. “When you give away 19 free bases, you are not going to win a ballgame.”
The first eight Regent batters of the game reached base against starting pitcher Madeline Bilvado via four walks, three singles and an error. The next batter got out, but it was a sacrifice fly that brought home a run to make it 6-0. Bilvado walked the next batter to load the bases and then switched places with fellow freshman Vivienne Barcarse, who moved from shortstop to take over at pitcher. She walked her first batter to force in a seventh run, but escaped the inning by striking out the next batter and then inducing a ground out.
The second batter of the bottom of the first, Titans freshman Sarah Esbenshade, smacked a double that hit the base of the fence in right field, but the hosts stranded her at third two batters later, bringing the Regents back to bat.
St. Lucy’s put the first four batters of the top of the second on. The fourth reached on an infield error that also scored two runs to make it 9-0 with runners on first and second. The next two Regent batters hit ground balls to Bilvado at shortstop, and each time she made a fielder’s choice to get the lead runner at third headed to third. She then snagged a liner to record the third out and get her team back to bat.
Bilvado and Madison No hit singles to open the bottom of the second, and both would score. With Barcarse at bat, the duo completed a double steal, after which she struck out. However, the third strike was dropped, allowing Bilvado to score, No to advance to third and Barcarse to reach first. Titans senior Nadia Escobar came up next and drove a run in with a groundout for the hosts’ second and final run of the inning.
The Regents put up just one more run in the top of the third. It came on a sacrifice fly caught by Escobar in right field as she ran forward and dived down to make the grab. The Titans did not score in the bottom of the third, and neither team got a run in the fourth inning.
In the top of the fifth, the first 10 St. Lucy’s batters reached base, resulting in seven runs. The first nine were against Barcarse and the 10th was against Bilvado, who returned to the circle. Two more runners scored in the inning, making it 19-2 going into the bottom of the fifth.
San Marino tallied three runs in the bottom of the fifth. The first was driven in by junior Alexandra Hughes, who hit a single to bring home freshman Mia Kelly, who had reached on a fielder’s choice.
The other two came on a hit by Bilvado that drove in Esbenshade, who had reached on a walk, and Sophia Bilvado, who had reached with a single. After that, Regent pitcher Savannah Castillo got the next two Titans out to end the contest two innings early.
“They got spanked and they are still all smiling. They are still going to come back tomorrow,” Edmonds said. “So, today hopefully we learned a little bit.”
SAN MARINO 19, MARSHALL 0 in 5 innings
The Titans got back to the field 24 hours after their nonleague game against St. Lucy’s and shut out the Eagles in five innings.
“Our defense was sharp and we played very well,” Edmonds said of the bounce-back win.
Madeline Bilvado tossed a one-hitter through five innings, walking two and fanning five for the Titans, who have a 3-3 overall record and an 0-2 league mark heading into Tuesday’s Rio Hondo League showdown against South Pasadena. The result will be in the next edition of the Tribune.
Madeline Bilvado also went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two doubles and an RBI.
Esbenshade hit a home run and recorded three RBIs in the rout. Grecia Aguiar, another freshman, went 3-for-3 and had five RBIs, three runs scored, a double and a triple.
Titans junior Delila Giardina and Escobar each drove in two runs, while Sophia Bilvado and Kelly each recorded one RBI. Sophia Bilvado and Escobar both tallied a double as well.
First published in the March 14 issue of the San Marino Tribune
