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.
When you let a good team hang around, bad things tend to happen. For the Moore League champion Millikan Rams, missed opportunities came back to bite them in a 5-4 loss to Mater Dei–falling short in a nine-inning duel to start the CIF-SS Division 2 softball playoffs.
“You have to be at your best and you can’t make any mistakes,” said Millikan head coach Michelle Lehr after the loss. “The mistakes will come back and haunt you. You can’t leave runners on base, can’t strike out with runners in scoring position. Those moments are really what kill us.”
The Rams stranded the bases loaded in three different innings on Thursday afternoon, unable to put the game away in the late stages.
Millikan opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth, as a leadoff single by Kayla Cisneros led to a two-out RBI knock from Riley McAndrew, making it 1-0 Rams.
However, Mater Dei would promptly cancel out that run in the very next inning as senior second baseman Cat Kawabe drilled a 2-0 pitch well over the center field fence for a game-tying home run. Kawabe was 3-for-3 on the day with a pair of RBIs and some stellar defense at the keystone.
Neither team scored until extra innings, though the Rams had a great rally going in the 6th. After a leadoff single by Katie Knarr, Jocelyn Owen was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Millikan attempted a bunt, but the Monarchs recorded an out at third base to neutralize that strategy.
After a groundout and a walk loaded the bases, pinch-hitter Ella Burleson hit what appeared to be a go-ahead grounder up the middle. Out of nowhere came Oklahoma State-bound shortstop Elle McCloskey for Mater Dei, who laid out for a terrific stop before shoveling the ball to Kawabe covering at second base.
Senior starting pitcher Ava Schaffel gave Millikan everything she had in the circle, battling through a nine inning complete game with a very high pitch count. She had just six strikeouts against a feisty and dangerous Monarchs lineup. One that consistently fouled pitches off and kept traffic on the basepaths, with a runner reaching base in all but two innings.
“At the end of the day, Ava should be able to give up a run, right?” Lehr said. “Expecting her to throw a shutout is crazy. Especially against a team like Mater Dei. I felt like she threw a great game, and I felt like she fought really hard to give us nine innings.”
When the game went to extra innings, both teams cashed in their free runners in the 8th, but Millikan was in a great position to win the game as they loaded the bases with just one out. However, Mater Dei pitcher Sienna Acosta was able to record a huge strikeout for the second out and then a harmless ground ball to escape the jam and force a ninth inning.
The Monarchs’ middle infielders, along with some signs of fatigue from Schaffel, helped fuel a three-run rally in the ninth for the visitors. After a squeeze bunt scored the first run of the inning, Kawabe delivered an RBI single back up the middle. She would then come in to score on McCloskey’s RBI triple, just off the glove of a diving Cisneros in right.
Millikan was able to score twice in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a Mater Dei throwing error, but the potential tying run turned into Millikan’s 10th runner left on base in the game.
The Rams finished the season with a solid 20-9 overall record, including a perfect 12-0 performance in league play. Mater Dei advances to play El Modena in the second round.
