When it comes to the postseason, it is often breaks that make the difference in a team’s fortunes. For the Homestead softball team, it was a couple of bad breaks that figured prominently in a season-ending loss to Santa Clara Valley Athletic League rival Wilcox last Saturday in the Central Coast Section Division I quarterfinals.
The Mustangs had advanced to the quarters by virtue of a 5-1 win over Independence in their section opener earlier in the week. But in the course of that game, Homestead had the misfortune of losing two of its best players–center fielder Julie Davis and right fielder Rachelle Cepeda–when the two collided going for a fly ball, leaving both with concussions that sidelined them for the Mustangs’ showdown with Wilcox.
Without Davis, Homestead’s lead-off hitter and fastest player, and Cepeda, a .288 hitter who was tied for the team lead in runs scored this season, in the line-up against Wilcox, the Mustang offense struggled mightily on the way to a 4-1 loss.
Wilcox, which won the SCVAL’s De Anza Division championship this year, advanced to the CCS Division I semifinals for the second consecutive year. The third-seeded Chargers were scheduled to play second-seeded Carlmont in the semifinals with the winner advancing to the championship game Saturday at PAL Stadium against the winner of the other semi-final match-up between top-seeded San Benito and fourth-seeded Los Altos.
Joining Homestead on the Division I tournament sidelines was SCVAL El Camino co-champion Monta Vista, which was ousted in the first round by Los Gatos.
And in Division III play, King’s Academy had its season halted by a quarter-final loss to Scotts Valley.
Homestead, which split two games with Wilcox during the regular season, got off to a promising start last Saturday when it took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first as sophomore Brittany Prock singled home Nancy Liu, who had doubled. It was Prock’s 20th RBI of the year.
But, although they would ultimately outhit the Chargers 7-6, that would end up being the extent of the Mustangs’ run production on the day.
Wilcox, meanwhile, struck for three runs in the bottom of the fourth and added an insurance run in the sixth.
Prock went 2 for 3 in the loss to raise her team-leading batting average to .453. She also wound up leading the Mustangs in hits (43), and was second on the club in both doubles (7) and homers (2).
Maggie Matzinger doubled, and Chelsey Liu, Nikka Piazza and Noa Yaki each singled to account for Homestead’s other hits.
The loss brought to an end the high school careers of Homestead seniors Yakir, Matzinger, Piazza, Sydney Sierras and Casey Bisted.
The sixth-seeded Mustangs, who finished the year with an 18-10 overall record, earned a chance to play Wilcox by beating 11th-seeded Independence in their tourney opener.
Homestead pounded out 13 hits in support of Prock, who limited Independence to just four hits en route to her 17th win of the year. The Mustang sophomore standout walked no one and struck out 11, matching her season-high established earlier in the year against Los Gatos.
“Brittany has thrown her best two games of the year in her last two outings,” said Homestead head coach Steve Allemandi after the game. “Her screwball, drop and curve have really been moving.”
Yakir provided Prock with all the offensive support she would need when she hammered a two-run homer, her team-leading fifth HR of the season, but her first since going deep against Westmont back on March 13th, 19 games earlier.
Prock, Yakir, C. Liu and freshman Carinne Peterson each collected two hits for the Mustangs, while Cepeda, Piazza, Davis, N. Liu and Sierras each chipped in with one. Yakir scored twice, and Cepeda, Peterson and Piazza all tallied once.
Eighth-seeded Monta Vista, which shared the SCVAL El Camino Division crown with Mountain View this season, exited the Division I tourney quickly when it was toppled by ninth-seeded Los Gatos 9-3 in its tourney opener.
The Wildcats, who finished third in the De Anza Division behind Wilcox and Los Altos during the regular season, rallied for four runs in the top of the third to take a 5-1 lead. But the Matadors scratched out single runs in the last of the third and fourth to cut their deficit to just two runs heading into the fifth.
The score remained that way until the top of the seventh, when Los Gatos salted the game away with another four-run outburst.
Sara Nordby was a bright spot in the loss for the Matadors, rapping out two of their seven hits.
The Mats, who finished the season 21-7 overall, will return 13 of 16 players off their roster next season, losing only seniors Janaye Sakkas, Emily Simmons and Tamanna Ahluwalia.
