SARATOGA -- While celebrating a culture-defining sophmore class in front of friends, family and fans at Viking Field, No. 3 West Valley softball picked up a resounding, bounce back victory against No. 8 Hartnell on Thursday. While the Panthers (29-9, 9-4 Coast) had just completed their best victory of the year, taking down top-ranked College of San Mateo, the Vikings (34-4, 10-4 Coast) battled from a deficit with a five-run frame in a 6-3 victory.
The Vikings took the games' first lead. Freshman Kaylee Kline took the ball and struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 first inning before sophomore Mo Temple doubled and came home to score on a single from Aneesa Aguon in the bottom of the first half. For the Vikings, a team that has had to play behind in a large handful of their wins this season, getting on the board first in front of a large crowd proved to be big.
But the Panthers, a squad with one of the best offenses in the state, had a strong plan and strung together three hits over a four-batter span to take a 2-1 lead. Kline pitched far more mature than her freshman status, bending but not breaking while setting down a pair to end the inning and keep Hartnell at just two.
That score is where things stood until the bottom of the fourth. Lexi Bojorquez-Nava, starting in her final regular season game at home as a Viking, mashed her third home run of the year to tie the game at 2. It was a storybook moment for the sophomore, who has battled to be a part of this roster but has been exceptional when available.
After Destiny Solis was retired, sophomore Ella Moser and freshman April Price knocked a pair of base hits before Izzy Paskert bunted them both over. Temple then slapped a ball through the left side to score one, and as the ball evaded the grasp of the Hartnell left fielder, a second as well, to put the Vikings up by two. After Angie Fulkerson singled, sophomore Raylene Cruz mashed a double to give the Vikings a four-run cushion. It was a massive hit in a line of many for Cruz, the sophomore leader who hit in the middle of the order as a freshman and has continued to perform as a sophomore.
Hartnell notched one back in the top of the fifth, but the way Kline was poised in the circle, it felt like she wouldn't let the Panthers back in the game. Still, they loaded the bases in the top of the seventh. Hartnell's Vianna Franco fouled off a couple pitches, but Kline didn't give in, finishing a complete game by hanging a K, getting Franco to chase.
It was a successful sophomore day for the Vikings, with just one more conference regular season game to go. Now, they'll look to spoil the sophomore day of their nearby rivals, as they take on San Jose City on the road this Tuesday.
