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FOUNTAIN VALLEY — There were tears of disappointment. Thoughts of what could have been. And in the end, recognition of a special senior class.
The playoffs have a way flooding both sides of the win-loss column with emotion, and that was the case Tuesday on the Fountain Valley softball field.
The Barons experienced the sting of a 7-6 loss to Upland in eight inning in a Division 3 wild-card game full of surprising twists.
Upland’s Logan Bester scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth. She reached third base after her sharp single escaped an outfield glove and sent her racing for extra bases with one out. One batter later, Phebe Rodriguez snapped a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly to center to score Bester.
Fountain Valley (12-13) threated in the bottom half of the inning. After Upland intentionally walked Boise State-bound slugger Makenzie Butt with two outs and no runners on base, Maggie Cahueque completed a masterful relief performance by recording her fifth strikeout to seal the victory and send the Highlanders (16-7) to Thursday’s first round at No. 2 seed Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
“We just thought this year was going to go a little bit longer and it didn’t, and we prepared for it to go longer,” Butt said. “Us six seniors played together since we were very little, so the thing that (sinks) is we’re all parting ways after this year, going to different states (for college).”
“It just (sinks) knowing that was our last time on the field together,” she added.
Veteran Fountain Valley coach Rick Aldrich thought about some of the close plays from the back-and-fourth game.
One of the biggest was a first inning squeeze play that saw the Barons tagged out at the plate after an excellent bunt by Wagner-bound Taylor Reynolds.
But Fountain Valley showed some of the resiliency that helped it finish third in the challenge Sunset League behind Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach.
After a three-run home run by Gianna Lomeli gave Upland a 4-1 lead in the third, the Barons scored five runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Samantha Sameshima, Butt, Reynolds, Ella Kim and a wild pitch.
In the circle, Courtney Kols went the distance in only her second game back from a shoulder issue that sidelined her most of league. She faced several talented hitters, including leadoff Perseus Yanez, who went 3 for 4 with a home run and triple.
“That’s been a big thing this year — our fight,” Butt said.
Amongst the other positives for Fountain Valley were the contributions of a senior class led by Butt, Samantha Estrada, Reynolds, Jenna Bixler, Marissa Sardinas (1 for 2 with a double and RBI) and injured Delaney Modino (finger).
The group notched its first victory against Marina last week in a 1-0 triumph. Reynolds supplied the game-winning hit in the seventh with a single that scored Estrada. Kols earned the win in her first game back.
“To get third (place), that was a huge thing for us,” Butt said. “Knowing we got that last game (against Marina) meant a lot to us.”
The seniors also were a big part of the Barons’ run to the Division 5 semifinals in 2022.
“We were down for a long time,” Aldrich said of his program. “We’re going to miss (these seniors). They’re been huge. … They play with heart.”
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