Quick Hits:
- Rivalry game. Rivarly game. Rivarly game. This is a great match up between two rivals in Warren and Downey. The Vikings entered hot with a four-game win streak while the Bears were coming into Thursday a little wounded after a 6-5 loss to Gahr where they blew a late lead.
- Downey struck first with an RBI from Daphne Gasper to bring in captain Rachel Rodriguez. Rodriguez had an outstanding day at the plate where she went 4-4 (all singles) and stole three bases. She said after the game she was in the zone.
- After that little jab by Downey, Warren punched back with four runs, keyed by three straight singles by Taylor Gallo, Neddie Gutierrez, and Julianna Bravo. Warren then added another run at the bottom of the second inning on a Ashley Machado RBI.
- With Warren on the brink of blowing the game wide open with a 5-1 lead, the Downey defense tightened up, giving up that one run over the next two innings. The offense also added two runs to cut the lead to two.
- With that momentum slowly going to the Vikings, the Bears ripped it away, registering eight hits and six runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Warren head coach Mary Starksen said her team is full of great hitters and it can be “contagious.” Perfect way to describe it. One Bear would get a hit then one by one they would follow.
- Courtney Sheldon for Warren was great on the mound. She gave up all three runs but recorded nine strikeouts, all but two swinging and played every inning.
- Downey started freshman Danielle Garcia on the mound. She got rocked for those four runs in the first but she settled down after that and had some good strong stretches. She four-hit Santa Fe on Saturday and head coach Micah Karzen said she he liked what he saw from her. She’s got a bright future.
- I asked the players about the rivalry and they said they all essentially know each other.They all pretty much grew up together, playing together at the youth level.
- Warren made some great defensive plays, highlighted by Gallo and Machado’s clutch double play. With bases loaded and no outs for Downey, the Vikings were on the verge of cutting the Warren lead and taking back some momentum. Garcia hit a soft blooper to second and Gallo made a great reaction to catch it for the out. She then gunned it home to Machado who made the tag at the last second. You can view the video above.
- While it was a rivalry and they wanted to beat each other there was still as sense of them being friends. That was highlighted by Rodriguez and Alyssa Hanks taking a picture together after the game. They are both best friends. It was a nice moment to end the day.