One Run and Done

Softball beats Culver City 1-0 in pitching showdown, maintaining 7-5 record

by Ethan Chi

Redondo won their frst league game with a pitch-perfect defense, despite coming of a loss to Centennial High School in the previous tournament. Redondo bounced back on March 8, winning 1-0 against Culver City High School.

Even though the girls were disappoint ed they couldn’t pull through against Cen tennial, beating Culver and winning Bay League is the team's new mission.

“The frst league game is defnitely im portant because it sets the tone for the rest of the league. Coach Dessert had said as soon as other teams fnd out we beat Culver, it sets the tone for what they expect the outcome of the league to be,” ju nior catcher Kayla Roe said.

Redondo’s win against Cul ver was “a great win," according to Roe, a tight match that was “neck and neck.” When Re dondo faced Culver previ ously they mercied them 8-0, but this time the girls knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Last game they didn’t have their ace pitcher and we knew this time they would, so we were just pre paring for how to hit of her,” Roe said.

Culver's pitcher, Tay lor Peacock, proved to be a tough opponent for the girls, setting the tone in the frst two innings by throwing consistent fast balls and not allowing Redondo a hit.

“We struggled a little bit at the beginning. I mean, she is a very overpowering pitcher, and you know, she's intimidating,” sophomore pitcher Bailey Murray said.

Peacock swiftly struck out Redondo’s frst three to bat, leaving the girls in des- and “refused” to let up.

“Even though it took us a while to get settled in, soon after that we started getting a couple walks, a couple hits, not necessarily producing multiple in a row, but defnitely making progress,” Roe said. With Redondo putting the pieces together, senior Annie Maden fnally got on base and patiently waited for every opportunity to advance bases. With Redondo deadlocked at 0-0, Maden on second base and Roe on her second strike, the team was looking to get ahead on this next swing. Roe hit a fastball down the middle allowing Maden to slide home, giving the girls a well-earned

This one run was pivotal in building up Redondo’s confdence and morale going into the next inning according to Roe.

“As soon as we got the run we realized this pitcher is not unbeatable, and we can do this,” Roe said.

The girls held onto their slim lead by continuing to play strong defense. The girls minimized their errors and capitalized on Murray’s pitching ability, striking out Culver’s heavy hitters, according to Roe. Their strong outfeld came in clutch when bases were loaded in Culver's favor.

“I would defnitely say one of the game savers for sure was the catch by Annie Maden in center feld. If she didn’t save us, it would have been three to one, so just for her to come up with that catch even though the sun was beaming down saved the game,” Murray said.

With Redondo’s defense shutting down Culver's attempts to gain the upper hand Redondo preserved their narrow onerun victory. As Roe said, winning their frst league game is huge, but the journey from here on out will be “difcult.” However, the girls feel good going into their next game against Culver on March 16.

“Our main goal is to win league. It's 10 games, everybody's going to be playing every week, and it's gonna be a lot mentally and physically," Murray said. "So just to stay strong, and just keep winning and having motivation is our main goal.”