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IRVINE — A stinging loss in extra innings in the CIF-SS Division 5 softball final couldn’t take away El Toro’s pride on Saturday afternoon.
Neither could a highly-discussed play at the plate in the top of the eighth inning that nearly gave the Chargers the lead.
Second-seeded El Toro fell 2-1 to No. 4 Cajon on a walk-off single by Kim Rodas with one out in the bottom of the eighth but the young Chargers still found plenty of positives amid their tears at Deanna Manning Stadium.
El Toro (20-10), starting only two seniors in its first section final since 1990, adjusted its approach at the plate to challenge ace Jada Villegas (205) and found a spark from its error-free defense.
“I just told (my team) with much authenticity as humanly possible,” El Toro coach Shannon Tinsley said, “the pride I have for each of them, for the season that they were able to put together. They all did exactly what they’ve been asked to do, and then some.
“They are selfless. They sellout for each other. They come with energy. They manufacture energy when they don’t feel like it, and they put it all out on the line there today.”
Cajon (24-6) quickly scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
Mercedes Alba opened with a double high off the fence in left, narrowly missing a home run. She took third on a sacrifice bunt and tried to score the winning run on a squeeze play but the first-pitch bunt attempt by Rodas went foul. One pitch later, Rodas belted a single down the left field line.
The most-talked about play occurred in the top of the eighth. With the score tied 1-1, El Toro loaded the bases with one out and nearly scored the go-ahead run off a passed ball. Freshman Camryn Bradshaw broke from third for home and was called out on a tag on her thigh by Villegas on a toss from catcher Sonia Garcia.
El Toro’s Brianna Bozych drew a walk on the at-bat to load the bases again but Villegas induced a groundout to escape the jam.
Tinsley praised Bradshaw for trusting her judgment to try to score.
“I’m proud of her that she has the confidence to see the play and trust her instincts and go,” Tinsley said of her third baseman. “(Sports) is a beautiful thing. It’s a cruel thing. That’s the game.”
A still image from video of the play later showed that Bradshaw appeared to be safe.
“I thought we had her,” Cajon coach Lee Haines said of the play. “I thought it was really close, though, and it wouldn’t have shocked me to see it go the other way.”
Wow, not sure even replay would helped on this close call @ETHSChargers denied @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/vPSDSOiVK5
— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) May 21, 2022
El Toro adjusted to Villegas later in the game, tying the score in the sixth on a single to right by Bradshaw, who drove in Olivia Fullerton. The inning opened with Fullerton, the daughter of former El Toro baseball standout Ryan Fullerton, hitting a triple to right.
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The Chargers scored after ending a threat in the bottom of the fifth. With runners at second and third with two outs, senior shortstop Kendra Foulds snagged a liner.
“She carries us,” said El Toro sophomore pitcher Kylie Loertscher of Foulds, who started a double play in the first inning. “