In a span of 24 hours the Peaches had played three softball games: A Saturday afternoon game to get into the title game, followed by a back-to-back must win game to force an ‘IF’ game against Southern and then the Sunday afternoon instant rematch game for all the marbles.
Exhausted might be an understatement for the perennial underdogs, but Sunday’s win over Southern for the APL Fastpitch Softball title made their grind worth it.
Peaches brought the offense Sunday and held Southern scoreless through six innings, en route to an 11-4 victory, denying Southern from a three-peat in the APL Fastpitch Softball League’s third season.
“We haven’t played that much softball in a long time so just pushing through all the pain and trying to endure it, we came out on top,” said Peaches Ashley Mendiola, who was named the game MVP, on playing three softball games in less than 24 hours.
The Peaches wasted no time getting into their offense Sunday as they scored seven runs from the 2nd through 4th inning. Their offense has been well at times this season, but their performance over the weekend where they scored double-digits in every game was a product of everything coming together.
Peaches Kiana Palomo sends the ball out to left field. (Photo by Michael Blas)
“We already knew that we were going to face their best pitchers, Kas and Janice, but we just needed to make contact. We haven’t been making the best contact that we felt we could have this season, but our goal today was to just make contact and see what happens,” said Peaches Megan Maratita.
Up 7-1 in the 7th, the Peaches continued to swing away. Mendiola got the inning started off with an in the park home run to go up 8-1. Sierra Tenorio would bring in a run off a single before Kiana Palomo’s two RBI double capped off the Peaches strong offensive outing.
Southern didn’t go down without a fight as they started to find their offense in the 7th inning. Tamisha Fejeran used a sacrifice hit to bring in the teams second run down 11-2, followed by an RBI single from Jess Balajadia to get the wheels churning. An RBI single from Sasha Dirige forced the Peaches to call for time to settle down up 11-4.
The catcher Maratita would grab the final two outs after Southern’s Jeraila Martinez and Nik Sanchez had their foul balls fly right in her vicinity to seal the Peaches win.
Team chemistry has played a big factor in the Peaches title run this season with a strong make-up of the team coming from former Academy Cougar softball players. The girls have played along side each other, as well as coached each other, for more than a handful of years already.
“We’re a very loud and weird team so we use our weirdness and loudness to our advantage and I think that’s what carries us. We try to not stay down, so when one of us cracks a joke we all start laughing and that boosts our morale,” said Mendiola.
“For a lot of us, we were helping to build the program and we never won Championships before. So for this season, it’s something that we had motivation for. Knowing that our girls won 19U, we wanted to show them that their coaches can do something too,” laughed Maratita.
check out photos from yesterday’s showdown against the Peaches & Southern
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Southern Kass Sanchez starts the first inning at the mound. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Kiana Palomo sends the ball out to left field. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Meagan Maratita and Sierra Tenorio celebrate on a good inning. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Lyana Crisostomo leans in for a bump. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Southern Mish Fejeran makes contact with the ball at bat. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Sierra Tenorio catches a pop fly. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Ashley Mendiola starts off the game at the mound. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Southern Jeraila Martinez runs in for a score. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Mish Ferejan celebrates after scoring. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Southern Nik Sanchez makes the catch at first for a double play. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Juliana Nelson makes the catch for an out. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Southern’s Coach Pops guides his team during the game. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Kiana Palomo tracks the ball in the outfield. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Southern Merced Flores leaps up to make the catch in the outfield. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Marissa Maratita storms past Southern off a bump by Lyana Crisostomo to score. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Southern Fran Blas runs through first base off a big hit outfield. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Talen Topasna slides to second base. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Ashley Mendiola makes a run for home plate. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Southern Janice Quintanilla winds up her pitch. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Marissa Maratita clears third base and makes a run for home. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Peaches Meagan Maratita closes out the game at the mound. (Photo by Michael Blas)