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 Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The Moore League softball season took a meaningful turn on Thursday afternoon on Lisa Fernandez Field. With a three-run rally in the seventh inning, Long Beach Poly stormed back for a 5-4 upset win over Lakewood, handing the Lancers their first league loss of the season while giving the Jackrabbits a signature win for the 2024 season.
Historically, Poly Softball hasn’t had the same level of success as their counterparts from Lakewood, but the Jackrabbits are making inroads in recent seasons. Poly has now beaten the Lancers in three of the last four seasons, and head coach Elizabeth Sanches-Martin is proud of how her team battled back at the end of Thursday’s win.
“We made some mistakes early in the game, and like we just told the girls, mistakes are gonna happen defensively, you have to answer back with your bats,” Sanches-Martin said. “The only thing I tell them is to not be scared. There’s no reason to be scared. Poly has always been that middle team. We have nothing to lose, we have nothing to prove, just get out here and play ball. No stress, no worries, no nerves.”
The Jackrabbits took the lead in the top of the first inning, when a deep fly ball to left field by Janelle Morris turned into an RBI triple, scoring Ki’ele Ho-Ching from first base to make it a 1-0 game.
Lakewood would immediately answer in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by Katelynn Lewis, scoring Isabella Rueda who led off the inning with a walk and a stolen base. Lewis would later score the go-ahead run on a Poly error, giving the Lancers their first lead, 2-1.
Poly was able to level the score in the top of the second, getting help from an illegal pitch that led to a one-out walk for Brianna Bailey. After stealing second and third, Bailey was brought home by a two-out RBI single from senior Katelyn Van Andel, who had a big game out of the nine-hole in the order.
Both starting pitchers settled in, and the game remained tied 2-2 until the bottom of the fifth inning. The top of the Lakewood batting order collected three consecutive singles, with Lewis once again driving in Rueda with a soft liner just in front of second base, giving the Lancers a 3-2 lead.
Lakewood added insurance in the sixth, when Jamie Ramirez smacked a leadoff single to left field. She would eventually come home to score on a pinch-hit RBI single from Kenzi Brisbin, making it a 4-2 Lakewood lead heading to the seventh.
With their backs against the wall, Poly dug deep for a game-winning rally, starting with a single and a stolen base by Bailey. Two batters later, Van Andel sent an RBI single through the left side to cut the deficit to one. Pinch runner Brooklyn Bernas came in to run for her as the potential tying run, and moved up to second on another base hit for Lam Sam.
A ground ball moved the runners into scoring position with two outs, then Lakewood chose to intentionally walk Ho-Ching to load the bases for Morris. The sophomore sent a ground ball towards second base, when Ho-Ching was able to win a foot race to the bag, just ahead of Lakewood shortstop Cat Calzada who tagged second base.
During the play, Bernas scored easily from third, but Lam Sam was able to give Poly the lead with some aggressive, heads-up baserunning. The sophomore came all the way home to score while all eyes were on the action at second base. That gave Poly a 5-4 advantage, their first lead since the top of the first inning.
“Just score,” said Lam Sam on her mentality on that play. “Make it to home base, do not slow your feet down. And no offense, but don’t listen to Sanches if she stops you, just keep running and make it home. I wasn’t even looking at her, I just knew I needed to be a team player and get the winning run home.”
Senior Lana Chao finished off the win for Poly, retiring the heart of the Lakewood lineup in order to wrap up her complete game effort. Chao allowed three earned runs on nine hits and a walk while collecting three strikeouts.
“This is the most confident that we’ve seen Lana all season,” Sanchez-Martin said of her senior pitcher. “I think that had a lot to do with her success today. Even after those errors in the beginning of the game, she didn’t miss a step. She came back and she hit her spots. We’re super proud of her.”
Ho-Ching was on base three times on Thursday with a single and two walks, and has stepped into more of a leadership role with her older sister, Tiare, unable to play with an injury. She said the Jackrabbits are doing their best to play for their senior captain even if she’s unable to be in the lineup.
“Of course it’s a little harder because it’s her senior year and I wanted to play next to her,” Ki’ele said. “Now that she can’t play, we’re playing with a chip on our shoulder, like, this is for her. Even though she can’t play, let’s keep winning and show everyone that we’re still good even without our main senior leader.”
Lam Sam, Morris and Van Andel each had a pair of hits for Poly in the win, with Morris and Van Anden each driving in a pair of runs.
The Jackrabbits will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Cabrillo.
Meanwhile for Lakewood, they’ll need to bounce back quickly as their first showdown with defending champion Millikan is Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., right back at Lisa Fernandez Field.
