Banged up and looking to stay in the hunt for the Bay Valley Athletic League title, the Antioch High softball team turned to its ace, Paris Imholz.
The senior responded with her best game of the season — a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts — as host Antioch edged Heritage 1-0 on Tuesday afternoon.
The Panthers’ win, coupled with Freedom’s 6-0 victory over Liberty, creates a three-way tie for first in the BVAL. Antioch, Heritage and Freedom are all at 5-2 with three games remaining.
Though the Patriots (10-7 overall) could manage little against Imholz, Antioch had similar trouble against Heritage starter Lisa Rodrigues until late in the game.
Antioch (13-4) scored its only run when Stephanie Mathias led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double and moved to third on Shelbi Graifman’s bunt single. Morgan Perry then singled to center field, scoring Mathias.
Heritage threatened in both the first and third innings with runners at second and third and one out. But Imholz delivered back-to-back strikeouts both times to end the innings.
“I just really focus on every single pitch, just one pitch at a time, I try not to think about base runners,” Imholz said. “That would just get me distracted. So by focusing on just one batter, just one pitch I was able to get myself together.”
Imholz’ season-high strikeout count took pressure off the Panthers defense, which played with a new catcher and shortstop due to injuries to the regular starters.
For Heritage, it was the second straight BVAL loss after starting 5-0.
“We have to figure it out quickly,” Heritage coach Ron Rivers said. “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we’re doing.”
Pinole Valley 5, Alhambra 3: The Spartans (19-1) needed 11 innings to beat the Bulldogs in a thrilling nonleague game.
The game was tied 1-1 after seven innings with Alhambra scoring the tying run in the bottom of the seventh. Both teams scored twice in the ninth, but Alhambra (15-5) didn’t have an answer when Pinole Valley broke through with two runs in the top of the 11th.
Sydney Shipley pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts for Pinole Valley.
Alhambra’s Erin Enke was 3 for 4 with an RBI. She also pitched four innings, giving up one earned run, and caught when she wasn’t in the circle.
— Staff
Baseball
Dublin 5, Las Lomas 3: The Gaels scored twice in the top of the sixth to break a 3-3 tie with the host Knights to earn their first Diablo Foothill Athletic League win of the season.
Zach Crittenden and Paul Schaaf each had two hits for Dublin (8-13, 1-8 DFAL), which dropped four league games by one run.
Sawyer Gieseke went 2 for 4 with a run for Las Lomas (12-8-1, 6-3).
— Staff
