Liberty finds magic in late-inning rally

Trailing by six runs in the fourth inning, Liberty’s softball team appeared headed for a loss in its season opener Monday.

Still down by two in the bottom of the seventh and with the bottom of the order due up, prospects remained dim.

The Patriots, though, had a little early season magic in their bats.

Liberty scored three runs with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to stun visiting defending Sunrise Region champion Foothill 10-9 in the Division I Sunrise League opener.

“It would have been easy for them to quit, especially when it was 7-1 (in the fourth),” said Liberty coach Jim Portese. “These kids know they can hit. I’ve got a bunch of kids who are scrappers. They know that if we have to hit to get us back into games, we can do that. They could have quit, but they didn’t.”

Sierra Jaramillo, the No.6 hitter in the Patriots’ order, started the rally with a soft single and was lifted for pinch-runner Jessica Mesa.

McKenna Hefley followed with a double to right-center and was replaced by courtesy runner Shaena Kapanui.

Both runners scored on Kylie Hefley’s single up the middle, tying the game at 9-9.

Kelsey Camat-Toki’s sacrifice bunt was misplayed, allowing Hefley to move to third and Camat-Toki to reach second.

Two pitches later, Marisa Olmos singled into right-center, plating Kylie Hefley with the winning run. Liberty saw only eight pitches in the bottom of the seventh, putting five of them in play.

The bottom four in the Patriots’ order combined to go 2-for-12 the first three trips through the order, but went 3-for-3 with the sacrifice in the seventh.

“Our bottom of the order came up big for us,” Portese said. “Before the inning, we told them they had to find a way to get on base for us. Kelsey’s bunt was big to move the runner into scoring position and give Marisa a chance to drive one.”

Liberty trailed 7-1 before getting back into the game with a five-run fourth inning, but never led until plating the winning run.

Olmos and winning pitcher Breanna Alvarez each went 4-for-4 with two RBIs as Liberty pounded out 16 hits.

“It’s very important to play even or a little bit better than a Foothill,” Portese said. “When you can come out and play with a team like that, it’s a good benchmark. The kids have confidence that they can play with teams like this.”

Jazmine Dukes was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Caitlyn Stevenson went 2-for-4 with a double for Foothill (4-3), which also got a three-run, inside-the-park home run from Kylie Becker.

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.