#10 Mountain View Blanks #7 Highland to Advance in 6A Softball Tourney

Saturday morning, the Mountain View Toros defeated the Highland Hawks 2-0 in what turned out to be a defensive duel. 

After losing to Highland 6-1 two weeks ago, Mountain View head coach Fernando Lopez believed they could get it done and avenge their previous loss.

“We believed we could make it happen,” Lopez said. “Last time we played them, we felt the balls didn’t roll our way. It shows that when were together we can fight together.” 

Opening up the game, the Toros would get out to a lead they would never give up. 

Sophomore utility Hadlie Goodman and senior infielder Keelie Goodman had singles to start the first inning off. 

The Toros would strike first when freshman third basemen Allison Robles hit a RBI single to left field to bring Hadlie Goodman to home plate. 

In the bottom of the first, the star of the game started strong. 

Things went well for Highland to start as they got a lead-off single from senior outfielder Karsyn Norton.

However, she would be left stranded. 

Mountain View senior pitcher Daniella Gloria would get three straight strikeouts as she was making batters swing and miss. 

Thanks to the early run at the top of the first, Gloria knew she could use the lead to her advantage. 

“I knew we scored first, and it gave me some leverage,” Gloria said. “I knew that all I needed to do was to get us back in.”

The Toros looked to keep the pressure on Highland at the top of the third as they would end up getting the bases loaded. 

Just like the first inning, both Goodmans would get on base, and Mountain View senior first basemen Kylynn Sylvester would also hit a single to get the bases loaded. 

The Hawks would get out of the tough scenario thanks to their pitcher.

Senior Kennedie Nelson would get back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam and allow no more runs to come through. 

Both teams would continue to struggle at the plate for most of the game, as neither side could gain momentum. 

At the bottom of the sixth inning, the Hawks got on base early again to try to tie the contest. 

Junior catcher Layla Napoli hit a single to open the bottom of the sixth, but once again for the Toros, Gloria would come through and get three outs. 

At the top of the seventh inning, the game would see the first run scored since the first. 

Mountain View freshman utility Autumn Lavit hit a lead-off double, and it was the Toros' mission to bring her home. 

The Toros would purposefully bunt to get Lavit at third.

Lavit would then proceed to be brought home by Hadlie Goodman, who smashed a ball to deep center field for the sacrifice fly.

The goal was for the Toros to go into the bottom of the seventh with a two-run cushion. 

“That was the plan,” Lopez said. “That was our plan to add a little insurance to the game.”

Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Toros would just need to keep doing what they already had been doing. 

Mountain View would get two quick outs as the Hawks struggled to get good contact on the ball.

Then, just like she did the whole game, Gloria would make a batter swing and miss and obtain her 10th strikeout of the contest and the victory. 

Even though she was down 3-0 in the count, Gloria knew she had what it took to get the job done. 

“I had three balls on her, and I knew I got her before in the last inning,” Gloria said. “I said, what do I need to do to get her again and I did. Got me really hyped.” 

As good as the win is, Mountain View knows they need to keep stacking the wins, and it doesn’t matter who they face.

“It doesn’t matter who it is at this time,” Lopez said. “The regular season is over, it’s one game at a time, one pitch at a time, one inning at a time.” 

Next up: #10 Mountain View looks to keep rolling when they take on #2 Desert Vista in Round 2A. #7 Highland will face #15 Desert Ridge in an elimination game.