SAN JOSE – A thick cloud of dust enveloped home plate, but it was clear to all that Cara Edwards had justified her coach’s faith in the catcher’s athleticism.
Seconds before, she was at third base with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, a position Archbishop Mitty’s runners had barely found themselves in Tuesday afternoon against Willow Glen ace Alanna Clincy .
Mitty coach Megan Yocke had told Edwards not to hesitate to run if she saw a ball go into the dirt and go past the receiver, even though the senior wasn’t the fastest player on the field. After all, such opportunities may not have presented themselves again.
So when the breaking tone reached the safety net, Senior Mitty was ready to turn on the jets. Once Edwards crossed home plate, she screamed in celebration after scoring what would be the winning run in the Monarchs’ 2-1 win over Willow Glen.
“It was go-go-go, it was just a go-go-go mentality,” Edwards said. “The second the ball got away from him, I was running.”
Mitty had spent the past two weeks routing West Catholic Athletic League opponents after being swept by rival and national juggernaut St. Francis in early April. Meanwhile, Willow Glen was on an 11-game winning streak before falling 6-5 to defending NorCal Open champion Hollister on Saturday.
In what could be a preview of a sectional or even NorCal playoff game between top private and public school programs, both teams showed off elite pitching that should translate to the postseason. .
Offensive highlights like Edwards’ were rare in a duel between super sophomores in the circle. Clincy struck out 13 and allowed just four hits against one of the Central Coast Section’s best offenses, increasing its strikeout total for the season to 146.
“We’re right there with them,” Clincy said after holding off two of the section’s best teams. “We just need to strengthen our defense.”
Mitty sophomore right-hander Kyleigh Mace was just as good, keeping Willow Glen off-balance all day with pitched balls and breaking balls en route to 10 strikeouts.
“It was fun to be able to overlap my downfall and then go up,” said Mace, who now has a 1.54 ERA.
Mitty’s Mia Rodriguez moved from first to third after a single when she stole a base, then took advantage of an error in the third inning, but Clincy struck out the side to escape the threat.
Edwards and Megan Sutton moved to second and third with two more outs in the fourth, but once again Clincy stayed calm and got out of trouble against a Mitty lineup missing injured shortstop McKenna Woliczko.
After suffering a tough loss to defending CCS Open champion Hollister last week, Willow Glen wanted to make a statement.
But as his pitcher mowed down the Monarchs, the only noise the hitters could make was an RBI from Anaya Zambrano that led to Lea Crawford breaking a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth.
A single point wouldn’t be enough for the Rams.
“We were in control in both of our losses,” Willow Glen Don Spingola said. “But we gave both teams a chance to come back, and they did because that’s what good teams do.”
Mitty’s regular catcher, Corri Hicks, the Oklahoma commit playing first base Tuesday, slapped a single into left field to reach base in the sixth. Then Edwards hit a double into deep right field, driving in his fellow catcher and tying the game.
After Edwards’ alert baserunning gave Mitty the lead, Mace took over from there. She struck out the side in a 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, then worked around a single in the seventh by striking out and getting a grounder to close out the win over Willow Glen (16-6) .
Mitty (16-3) enters the final stretch of the regular season, with the WCAL schedule ending May 10.
If the Monarchs want to achieve their playoff goal of winning the CCS Open trophy, they need to knock off undefeated St. Francis.
Mitty is convinced he can do it.
“I’m looking forward to a rematch,” Edwards said. “We’re ready to go out and play some high-level players and see St. Francis again.”
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