Tuesday afternoon’s varsity softball game between rivals Pitman High and Turlock High wasn’t the first time that a baserunner in either softball or baseball forgot how many outs there were or where the runners were in an inning, but it may have very well been the first occurrence where nearly everybody on the field was unaware of the game situation.
In the top of the seventh inning trailing 5-4 against the Bulldogs, the Pride took advantage of error after mishap after oddity.
After Ella Underwood and Addie Mettler worked a pair of walks and Rylee Reeves was hit by a pitch to load the bases, junior Madison Rosebrough drove in the tying run with a walk of her own off of Turlock starter Gianna Roe. An RBI infield single by Daizy Gonzalez gave the Pride their first lead of the game at 6-5, then things started getting really weird.
With sophomore Cadence Campbell on in relief for the Bulldogs and Gaby Pacheco batting with the bases still juiced, Reeves was called out at home after trying to score on a wild pitch. Three pitches later with Gonzalez at second base and Rosebrough at third, Pacheco watched ball four go by. Then, to the dismay of nearly everybody in the stands and in the dugouts, Rosebrough casually strolled home without issue. With confused looks on the faces of nearly everyone on the field, it was soon realized that Rosebrough had accidentally stolen home and had given the Pride a key insurance run to make it 7-5, as she and the Bulldog defenders incorrectly thought that the bases were loaded when Pacheco walked.
Turlock head coach Brian Campbell could do nothing but watch helplessly with hands on his hips as Rosebrough’s confused look quickly turned into a face full of excitement after realizing what had just happened.
“I admit that I thought the bases were loaded,” Rosebrough said. “I just completely forgot that Rylee in front of me was thrown out trying to score. I thought with the walk, I was just going to walk in, like nothing.”
Well, she did, in fact, walk in like nothing, and it’s something that Pitman head coach Joe Lewis doesn’t think he has seen in his days.
Rosebrough’s run was the last that the Pride would get across, and it capped off the day where all seven of Pitman’s runs were unanswered after facing an early 5-0 deficit. The Bulldogs struck first in the opening inning after Campbell and Natalie Sahlstrom rounded the bases on a pair of outfield errors to make it 2-0.Sahlstrom later drove two more runs with a double the next inning to make it 4-0, which was followed by an RBI knock from Karley Wool to make it 5-0.
The oddities of the final arguably overshadowed the efforts of Pitman starter Pacheco. After surrendering the five runs through the first two innings, she held the Bulldogs scoreless for the remaining five innings to cap off a complete game performance, also earning herself the win.
“Obviously, it was a rough start, but I knew I needed to go out and perform not just for me, but my team. We knew that this game was really important,” Pacheco said. “Even with the rough start, I knew that we would come back.”
After the final out of the 7-5 victory, Lewis walked out of the dugout, shaking his head with a smile on his face – a combination of relief and lingering disbelief from the previous half inning.
“I’m proud of being down 5-0, they never hang their heads, and they always fight back,” Lewis said of his team.
The win improves the Pride to 7-8 overall on the season and 4-5 in Central California Athletic League competition, good enough for third place behind 6-1 Gregori and 8-0 Enochs. They’ll face the undefeated Enochs squad in their next game on Thursday at home, with first pitch slated for 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs drop to 3-12-1 overall and 2-5 in league play. They’ll have an opportunity to make up ground in a two game set against Gregori, with a home game on Thursday and an away game on Saturday. Both games are also scheduled for 4 p.m. starts.
