And in large part, that kind of defensive strategy worked magnificently for the Bulldogs against the visiting Beaumont Cougars on Tuesday. Cheyenne Gandara fired her drops, risers and screwballs at the Cougars and they hit 12 infield ground balls. And shortstop Taylor Vanzee scooped up nine of them – in error less fashion.
Her defense, along with that of her teammates, and a first inning run was all Gandara and the Bulldogs needed to pull off a thrilling 1-0 Mountain Pass League victory over the Cougars.
"Taylor is what I would classify as a beast on the field," Galloway said. "That girl works so hard and she understand and knows the game. She does great things for us. She is just a great athlete. That's a tribute to her work-ethic."
Vanzee – just a sophomore - leads the Mountain Pass with a sizzling .558 batting average. But in this game against Beaumont's Alyssa Fuimaono she walked twice and struck out once. Defensively, though, this was her shining moment. Her nine fielding attempts by far surpass her previous high of five against West Valley.
But for Vanzee, it was the victory and what it means that counts. The win puts both teams in a deadlock atop the league with 7-1 records.
This was an amazing win," said the left-side hitting Vanzee. "It's the best feeling ever knocking off the number one. It feels great."
Hemet (11-7 overall) scored the only run of the game in the first inning on a bases-loaded walk to Desiree Piceno that sent lead-off batter, Mackenzie Miller, trotting home with the winning run. Miller singled to right field to open the game, and eventually found her way to third base when Beaumont pitcher, Alyssa Fuimaono walked three batters to force in the run.
Fuimaono, who came into the game with a 13-1 record and 1.63 ERA, walked six batters and allowed five hits to Hemet's Miller, Ivy Campbell, Kassandra Hernandez, Autumn Davis and Antonia Nahulu.
Beaumont coach Jim Tickemyer said his right-handed pitching ace started the game not her usual self. But he was also quick to give Hemet credit for the win.
"Alyssa was uncharacteristically nervous going into the game," Tickemyer said. "She had the jitters in the first inning; she walked three with one of them being the game-winning run. But with our hitting lineup I don't ever expect us to get shutout, so my hat is off to Cheyenne. She gave up a hit to the first batter of the game and one to the second to the last batter of the game, and in between she was really good at getting ground balls and getting outs when she needed them."
The Bulldogs win evens the score with Beaumont (the number one ranked team in CIF Division 5), and it helps soothe a 4-2 loss to the Cougars in their first league meeting when Fuimaono blasted a two-run, walk off homer off Gandara. That home run pitch was high in the strike zone. But this time around Gandara had a different pitching strategy.
"We were working the ball low in the zone today with my screwball and my curveball," she said. "I was glad she (Vanzee) was back there for me, and I had confidence in my defense."
Gandara pitched seven strong innings, with six strikeouts and one walk. And she breezed through the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings retiring the Cougars in order. Only four balls reached the outfield, and she faced just 24 batters – three over the minimum in improving her personal record to 8-3. And Gandara's a meager-meister in the earned run department with a 0.97 ERA, along with 139 strikeouts in 79.1 innings. Both tops in the league.
But yet in the seventh inning, Beaumont had a chance to tie and possibly win the game. After Vanzee fielded a ground ball out, Fuimaono blasted a single to left field and eventually advanced to second base. But then Gandara's low-in-the-strike-zone pitches put the ball on the ground and twice into the glove of Vanzee to end the game.
"Typically, Cheyenne gets 10 or 12 strikeouts against us," Tickemyer said. "So we did a better job of putting the ball in play, but Taylor did a really good job at shortstop and Hemet played solid defense. It was a good softball game all the way around."
Hemet and Beaumont (15-4 overall) stand above the league with West Valley (4-3) and San Jacinto (3-4) the closest competition. That means if Hemet and Beaumont keep winning, a showdown for the league title could take place on May 3 when the two teams meet for a third time. But both coaches were quick to downplay that scenario, but also relished the deliciousness of such an exciting winner-take- all encounter.
"Anything could happen, but we've got San Jacinto and Tahquitz, and Citrus Hill has a really strong pitcher," Tickemyer said. "But we're definitely looking forward to a head-to-head matchup with Hemet, we always are."
And from Galloway: "It could set up a winner take all, but I'm not looking at it that way. I'm looking at this, as we have to prepare for the next game we play. Our goal is to win every game we play, so we can't overlook anyone in league."