The562’s high school softball coverage is sponsored by Playmakers. Visit LetsBePlaymakers.org for more information on their adaptive sports programs.
The562’s coverage of Millikan athletics in the 2023-24 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
One might say that the Moore League softball season doesn’t officially get started until Millikan and Lakewood play. Well if that’s the case, the defending champion Rams are putting together a pretty impressive preamble.
Millikan was convincing once again on Tuesday, racking up a fourth consecutive shutout in Moore League play with a 5-0 victory over the visiting Wilson Bruins.
The Rams got seven scoreless innings in the circle from senior Ava Schaffel, running the team’s scoreless streak up to 22 innings. The Rams have outscored their opponents 39-0 so far in league play, with wins over a pair of playoff teams.
“I’m feeling good, I’m really excited with the team,” said Millikan head coach Michelle Lehr. “I feel like the culture with the girls is really really good, and that’s hard to do with a roster of 23. As a coach I just have to keep giving opportunities to players, trying my best to make sure everyone feels like they’re important and have a role … It’s hard to keep that positive energy and make sure the girls are really in it for the team and not just themselves. I’m feeling good, I think we’re in a really good place right now as a team.”
Nobody summed up that mentality better than Ella Burleson, who took her one opportunity on Tuesday and made the most of it. As a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth inning, she had a runner on first base with two outs with Millikan leading 3-0. After taking some hacks in the batting cage next to the Rams’ dugout, the junior was ready for her shot in the batter’s box.
“It’s a high-pressure situation fresh off the bench,” Burleson explained. “I really needed to prove to myself that I could do it, but also prove to my coaches that I was capable of doing it.”
Burleson got a pitch on the inner half of the plate, and she turned on it to send a screaming line drive just over the outfield fence in left. The two-run shot was the first homer for Burleson this season and just the second of her entire softball career, giving Millikan a decisive 5-0 advantage.
“When I saw that thing go over, the biggest smile came over my face. It’s what I’ve worked for for so long,” Burleson said. “Seeing my work actually produce was really satisfying … When I get the opportunity, I get the chance, I want to make 100 percent of that opportunity. When I went up to bat, I was calm, I was zen, and I just felt good about everything.”
“When she hit it over, I was jumping up for joy,” said Lehr of the home run. “Ella was really on in the fall, she hit really well for us. She’s gotten a handful of at-bats recently and nothing really came of them, so it’s time for her, and I know how bad she wanted it. In that situation, we’re just looking for good at-bats, hard contact, that’s it … If she had just hit a line drive I would’ve been happy feeling that she did her job. But it’s better that she hit a home run.”
The Rams took the lead in the third inning with a three-run rally starting with the top of the lineup. Morgan Zimmerman hit a ringing double to start the inning, then a misplay on a sac bunt by Kayla Cisneros (1/2, R, SB) put runners at the corners for Katie Knarr. The RBI machine game the Rams the lead with a flare to left field, scoring Zimmerman to make it 1-0.
After a sharp Jocelyn Owen single, Riley McAndrew drilled a ball to deep left that hopped up and over the fence for a ground rule double. That would score Cisneros and Knarr to make it a 3-0 lead for the Rams.
Cisneros may have actually sparked the rally in the top half of the inning as she was able to deny Wilson’s best scoring chance. After a bunt single by Charlotte White and a walk to Sacha Zalamea put two on with two outs, Tallulah Watts smacked a base hit through the right side of the Millikan infield.
That’s where Cisneros fielded the ball cleanly in the lopsided Millikan outfield before firing a strike to the plate. Owen supplied the tag on White in a bang-bang play, but the call went in favor of the home team to keep things scoreless.
“I was super stoked,” said Cisneros of getting the outfield assist. “I just really had to stay down on it because our grass isn’t the best, but that was a hard hit and I knew I had to keep my glove down and make a good throw because there was speed at second … That play really changed the momentum of the game and I feel like after that play we were all relieved and were able to rack up some hits.”
Wilson did a nice job against the top pitcher in the league, putting a runner on base in each of the first five innings. However, the Bruins were unable to cash in those runners and had to deal with a really strong defensive performance from the Rams. Schaffel ended up with seven strikeouts in the complete game shutout, but Wilson was able to hit the ball hard a number of times against the senior righthander.
Sophomore Tatum Yates had a single and a double to lead the Bruins offense, while White added a pair of hits from the leadoff spot and Zalamea drew two walks on the day.
Wilson will take on Compton on Thursday in a 3 p.m. game at Joe Rodgers, while Millikan will visit Jordan at the same time.
All eyes are on the Millikan/Lakewood rivalry game next Tuesday night as the Moore League’s two unbeaten teams square off at 6:30 p.m. on Lisa Fernandez Field.
