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Sports

Monte Vista Softball loses 13-1 in Livermore Tournament Opener

Mustangs trampled by doppelganger Mustangs in stampede.

Upon arriving in Livermore via the 580 freeway, one could be generous and describe the surroundings as unremarkable.  Drive a few miles past those initial fast-food plazas, petrol stations and tract-housing developments and you'll find an enchanting downtown area. A little farther down the road is Rodrigues Field, site of the 16th annual Livermore Stampede Softball Tournament, one of the most prestigious varsity softball tournaments in Northern California.

It was there that the Monte Vista Mustangs ran into a bit of a speed bump on Thursday as they were trampled by the Rodriguez Mustangs in their first game of pool play at the Livermore tournament.  Fairfield's Rodriguez Mustangs (now 7-3-1) led the charge against Monte Vista, dropping them to .500 (4-4) in only five innings of work by a score of 13-1. 

Monte Vista's previous worst margin of defeat this season was three.

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"We're tired," said head coach Louie Greco.  "We came out flat.  I don't know if it's due to spring break, but we lacked effort and intensity today."

It was an uncharacteristic effort for the Mustangs, in red and black.  Before Thursday, the most runs Monte Vista had given up this year was seven, when they beat Foothill 9-7 on April 1st.

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Sophomore secondbasewoman Shannon Low was the hero that day, hitting a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh.

On Thursday, Low led off the Monte Vista half of the first with a double to left-center and scored the sole Monte Vista run on a single by junior Katelyn Mamizuka.  Low added another double past the same outfielder in the fifth but was left standing on second when the mercy rule ended both Mustangs' days early.

Low's doubles were the home Mustangs' only extra-base hits of the day, and half of their hit total for the game.  The only other hit for Monte Vista occurred in the fourth when senior Melissa "Cornbread" Corn reached on a two-out infield single but didn't make it any further.

If Low has a secret to how she's been seeing the ball lately, she ain't tellin.'

"I've just been practicing hard and trying to keep my team up," said Low, one of six returning Mustangs this season.  "I've been keeping focused and getting in a good warm-up."

Coach Greco recently promoted Low to the leadoff spot in a move that has paid immediate dividends.

"She's been coming up strong," said Greco.  "We moved her up in the lineup because we saw that bat coming alive, and she's picking up the ball really well."

Unfortunately this day was all about those "other" Mustangs.  Rodriguez came out strong in the first inning with three runs and never relinquished the lead, scoring two more in the second and posting four runs in both the third and fifth innings.

Rodriguez senior Andriana Collins pitched the first three innings and looked very impressive, striking out five.  Offensively the green and blacks were simply unstoppable top to bottom, scoring or threatening to score in every inning.

"Coming into the game, we knew it was going to be tough," said junior Kristin Ormsby. "They're a very, very good team.  We knew what we were up against— a wall that would be hard to overcome.  I think we just let it get to us."

The Monte Vista offense has been feast or famine all year.  Thursday was the fourth time they've scored under three runs this season, all in losing efforts.  However, when Monte Vista has been hot, they've been nuclear, posting wins every time they've scored nine or more runs. 

Against Berkeley High on March 23rd the Monte Vista Mustangs won while scoring "just" six—their lowest total for a win this season— but they all came in one volcano of an inning.  The rest of the game was all goose eggs for both teams.

Perhaps it just wasn't in the cards for Monte Vista on Thursday.  Despite winning the pregame coin flip to be named the home team, they still had to play Rodriguez on a field named after Ernie Rodrigues.  Their cheering section couldn't really cheer for the Mustangs, as they weren't the only team on the field with that name.  To top off the unlucky double-insanity, Rodriguez posted 13 runs on 13 hits.

Like Stevie Wonder, I've never been particularly superstitious, but maybe Monte Vista's cheering section should bring some rabbit's feet to Friday's games.

"And our flasks," one of the team moms joked.

"We've got to come back tomorrow," said Greco.  "We're still in good shape.  You don't lose a tournament in one game."

While it might be a bit far-fetched to expect a championship flight birth after a 13-1 loss in the first game of pool play, where ties are broken by head-to-head records and run differentials, one thing is certain – Monte Vista does have to come back and play tomorrow.  They will square off against Deer Valley at 1 p.m. on Friday, followed by Sheldon at 3:30 p.m.

Monte Vista still sports a very talented young team, and with a strong finish they could easily place in the top half of the tournament.  Much like driving through Livermore, they just have to put this initial ugliness behind them.

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