SALINAS -- Three Vikings hit home runs as No. 3 West Valley softball toppled No. 10 Hartnell. Pitching and power led the way for the Vikings (26-2, 5-1 Coast), as the West Valley staff has now allowed two or fewer runs in seven of its last eight games. The Panthers (23-8, 3-3 Coast) fell from No. 5 in last weeks' coaches' poll, but were still a formidable opponent for the Vikings. After a back-and-forth early portion of the game, timely hitting pushed West Valley to a 5-2 victory.
West Valley started with a bang in the opening frame. After Mo Temple singled with one out, freshman third baseman Angie Fulkerson hit a two-out blast to put the Vikings on top early. Fulkerson, arguably the Vikings' best power hitter, took the team lead in home runs with that first inning swing. She's not just a home run hitter, she also leads the Vikings and is third in the conference with 12 doubles while leading the team in RBI.
But a rare blip from Viking ace Ana Marquez tied the game up in the bottom of the first. Kalea De Leon hit a one-out homer, the first Marquez has allowed this season and only the fourth from West Valley pitching, and Mia Henson had a two-out double to even the score, 2-2 after the first.
The two sides went quietly in the second inning, as the Vikings went down in order and West Valley's new pitcher, Kaylee Kline, worked past a two-out single to keep the score even.
The first two Vikings in the order in the top of the third went down, and all of a sudden, Panther pitching had retired six in a row. But Temple, who just continues to hit, singled through the infield and sophomore Raylene Cruz added her second homer of her sophomore campaign to give the Vikings the lead right back.
Cruz, who hit cleanup for the Vikings last season, is quietly one of the most important cogs to the West Valley operation. She's been a consistent force for her career, and has 11 multi-hit games already this season. It feels like whenever the Vikings need a big knock, Cruz delivers. Even after a rare, two-game hitless streak, Cruz still brought the same attention to detail as in every at-bat, not letting the moment get too big and delivering for her team. In the bottom of the third, Hartnell got its leadoff runner on, but a 5-4-3 double play thwarted any chance for Hartnell to try to get back in the score.
Lexi Bojorquez-Nava then led off the fourth inning with a solo shot of her own, giving the Vikings some much-deserved insurance. Bojorquez-Nava returned from a midseason injury with a venegance, arguably even looking like a better player than before her injury, and has been a huge addition to the middle of the order.
Kline was in cruise control over the last four frames, only allowing two baserunners (an error and a walk) over that stretch. Overall, the freshman finished with six innings of two-hit ball, striking out three and limiting a top-ten offense in what has become par for the course for her over her freshman year.
Tuesday's game marked the first where the Vikings hit three home runs of the season. It was the first overall for the Vikings since last postseason against Fresno City, in a game where Brianna Chambers-Lee crushed two of her own. Power was arguably the biggest question mark coming into the season, but the West Valley bats have literally and figuratively hit it out of the park when it comes to a power surge.
Next up for the Vikings is one of the biggest games of the season, as crosstown-rival San Jose City heads to Viking Field to continue conference play on Thursday.