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Softball: Notre Dame squeaks by Salinas – The Salinas Californian

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Champ Robinson Published 9:06 p.m. PT March 14, 2017 | Updated 35 minutes ago

Notre Dame's Kylie Nguyen (left) celebrates with teammates at home plate Spencer Hyosaka (center), and Logan Riggenbach (right) during a non-conference softball game against the Salinas Cowboys.(Photo: Vernon McKnight)Buy Photo

Vanessa Gonzalez knew she didnt have her best stuff after jamming her finger in the first inning, but when the Notre Dame Spirits needed their starting pitcher the most, she delivered.

Gonzalez struck out Salinas Josephine Villarreal swinging with runners on second and third to secure a 5-4 Spirits win over the Cowboys at the Salinas Sports Complex.

Notre Dame head coach Tom Cardinale said the strikeout to end the game was when Gonzalez was at her finest in the circle.

Her and I had some exchanges about its time to compete here and thats when she opened up the outside part of the plate and it wasnt hittable, Cardinale said. Vanessa can do that when shes 100 percent where its really tough to hit that ball. You have to be a really good batter (to make contact there) and I think at the end of the game is where she really turned that on.

Notre Dame would score in the top of the first as Shantal Martinez would race home from third on a pass ball to give the Spirits a 1-0 lead.

Salinas wouldnt waste any time evening up the score as the Cowboys struck in the bottom half of the inning when Leslie Romero would single in Josselyn Barriga to tie the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the third inning, Salinas would score another run.

After a leadoff triple from Neveah Pinon, Marrisa Bustamante would drive Pinion in with an RBI single to give the Cowboys a 2-1 lead.

The 2-1 lead would hold for the Cowboys until the Spirits answered in the top of the fifth with a two-run double from Alexia Torculas to give Notre Dame a 3-2 lead.

Cardinale said it was just a matter of time before the middle of his lineup got going against the Cowboys.

I have a group of girls that are all going to hit the ball hard, Cardinale said. Alexia was right there. Shes going to make good, hard contact somewhere. Logan before her, Lauren Pullara before her. We kind of stack them up that way and I knew somebody was going to connect and it was going to be time to score.

We had a lot of hard outs that were right at people. All of a sudden we had to make an adjustment and get a little bit more top part of the ball, get the ball to touch the grass and all of a sudden good things happen.

Torculas who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the game said she was excited to have that clutch hit when her team needed it.

Lately Ive been actually struggling at-bat, Torculas said. I was just trying to have a positive mentality, I was telling myself I was not going down without a fight.

I told myself any pitch that comes close to me, Im going to try and get a base hit and do the most for my team.

Salinas would get the two runs back in the bottom of the fifth as Villarreal would drive in Kayla Stone and Pinon with a double to left-center field and give Salinas a 4-3 lead.

Romero who struck out for the first out in the inning after Stone reached with a single said the hit by Villarreal put a charge in the Salinas dugout.

We were so hyped, Romero said. We knew we were in this (and that) we could win. We just knew it.

Staring at a deficit once more, Notre Dame would regain the lead one final time.

The Spirits would manufacture a run in the top of the sixth inning via an error, a walk, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly by Kaeli Bush which brought across Rachel Reimal to tie the game at 4-4.

Cardinale said before his team headed out to take its at-bats in the top of the sixth, he sensed a different kind of attitude from them.

We were probably at our best ready to compete mode at the top of the sixth, Cardinale said. Thats where our girls finally got their attention.

The game remained tied at 4-4 heading into the top of the seventh when leadoff hitter Logan Riggenbach stepped to the plate.

Riggenbach roped a low line drive to center field as Ashley Isla closed in an attempt to short hop the line drive.

The ball skipped under Islas glove and rolled toward deep center as Riggenbach turned it into overdrive and began to race around the bases.

I was just looking at my third base coach, Riggenbach said. He wasnt stopping me, so I knew I was going home.

As Riggenbach rounded third and made it home safely for the inside-the-park home run, Gonzalez summed up her feelings of the play.

I was relieved, Gonzalez said like the weight of the world was immediately lifted off her shoulders.

Torculas added some excitement to the game-changing moment.

I was up next to bat and I was screaming at home plate, trying to encourage her (to make it home), Torculas said.

Cardinale said he knew a big play was potentially coming once the ball left Riggenbachs bat.

I knew once she didnt land glove on it, it was (going to be trouble), Cardinale said. Logan hustles. I knew she going to round it (third base).

With a 5-4 lead and three outs remaining for the Cowboys, Salinas showed it was not going to back down without a fight.

The Cowboys sent the middle of their order to the plate in the bottom of the seventh and after Stone and Romero both reached via singles to set up a two on, no out situation, Salinas appeared to be setting up for a comeback of its own.

Salinas head coach Lauren Jimenez would then have Pinion sacrifice the runners to second and third with one out.

Gonzalez said she wasnt thinking of the situation and just worried about the batters coming up.

Ive been in worse positions so I knew I could get through it, Gonzalez said.

With the game-winning run on second base, Gonzalez got Bustamante to ground out to second base before striking out Villarreal to end the game.

Romero said Gonzalez pitched a good game, but the Cowboys bats need to make more solid contact at the plate.

She was going in and out on us, throwing her rise ball which got some of us, Romero said. Other than that, we were hitting the ball fine, we just need to get on it more.

We stayed in it with Notre Dame when people doubted us. We proved them wrong and we could do it.

Now 10-0 on the season, Cardinale said the Spirits cant get comfortable with their record.

We need to keep our energy up and we have to be very focused on doing all of the little things correctly, Cardinale said. If we do that, well be a hard team to beat, but anybody can lose on any give day. Our league is tough and we know that.

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Softball: Notre Dame squeaks by Salinas - The Salinas Californian

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