A handful of Turlock National Little League’s softball teams strung together deep playoff runs over the summer, with their 11s team putting together the best finish in their history. They were one of two teams from their program to raise District 73 banners, setting up an action-packed Valley Section tournament.
TNLL 11s go to NorCal
The TNLL 11s have littered the history books this summer, advancing to NorCal State tournament for the very first time. And because of the growing number of Little League softball programs throughout the state and nation, this season marked the first in which district tournaments were held.
And they dominated.
Their run began with a pair of dominant, blowout performances against Atwater in the District 73 tournament, outscoring their Merced County counterparts by a combined score of 33-2. The first game on June 18 was a three-inning 16-0 shutout in which Maylee Maciel drove in four runs on a pair of hits to lead all players. Pitcher London Silva allowed just one hit while punching out six in her three frames. In the 17-2 clincher the very next day (another three-inning contest), four different players drove in multiple runs — Silva, Addison Long, McKinley Sousa and Meya Castle. Long led the way with three RBI while the other drove in two apiece.
At the Valley Section tournament the next week, the TNLL gals similarly dismantled Sequoia twice, scoring 41 runs and allowing just three. The first game, a 21-3 win, was blown open by an inside-the-park grand slam by Silva, which made it a 10-2 game in the second inning. The game was 3-2 in favor of TNLL after one frame. Silva led all players with five RBI. Long and Maciel were on base for much of the day, each walking three times and coming around to score multiple runs. Silva was also on the mound, where she allowed two earned runs on a hit and five walks, though she escaped more trouble by striking out seven. In a rematch later that same day, Long drove in another four runs on two hits while also mirroring Silva’s heroics earlier in the day with an inside-the-park homer of her own. Sousa and RaeLynn Bray, meanwhile, combined for three no-hit innings.
Their run ended in the inaugural state tournament, as they finished as a runner-up to Pinole. Pinole squeezed by TNLL with a 6-5 win in the opening game on July 12, forcing the Turlock team to play twice the following day. TNLL responded with a 4-2 win over Natoma and a 10-5 victory against Olivehurst to set up a July 14 rematch with Pinole, who again won 4-1.
TNLL 10s raise District 73 banner
Also raising a District 73 softball banner was Turlock National’s 10s All-Stars, and their journey was nearly identical: stringing together two dominant wins over Atwater. The first on June 18 had a final score of 9-0, with nine of 12 TNLL batters reaching base. Korah Perales strung together a stellar performance where she struck out 13 while allowing just one hit. They followed it up with a 17-5 win the rematch the next day, with a quartet of players nabbing three hits each — Luella Perry, Milah Cantu, Raegan King and Drew McClendon. Cantu’s came with multiple runners on base, allowing her to lead all players with three RBI. Perales started the game and tossed five strong innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out 12.
At the Valley Section tournament, they finished up as a runner-up to Madera after falling to them twice. The first loss came in the June 27 opener by an 11-6 score. They returned the next day to defeat Sequoia, 19-5, to keep their season alive and set up the rematch with Madera, who then won by a 12-2 score.
TNLL 8s win Valley Section
Despite there only being a handful of 8U teams in the region, Turlock National's unofficial 8s team still had a summer to remember, playing in the lone postseason tournament for their age group and leaving as winners.
That tournament was the Valley Section, and the TNLL 8s won two out of three games against Sequoia to win the title. In the first matchup on June 28, Isabella Gonzalez led the way offensively in the 9-3 victory with two hits and three runs driven in. Also driving in a pair of runs was Vanessa Espiro. Later that day, Sequoia got their revenge with a 12-4 win to set up a winner-take-all game the next day. That deciding contest turned out to be 7-5 in favor of TNLL, who put up four runs in the fourth inning to erase a 4-3 deficit. Driving in runs were Madeline Mejia with a triple and Galilea Gonzalez and Emilia Schroeder with singles. That inning proved to be the difference as Sequoia threatened with a run in the bottom half of the frame.
