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Victor Valley’s Leann Eide hugs B.B. Bates (24) after the Jackrabbits beat Barstow on Wednesday to capture the Desert Sky League title.
Photo by Steve Saenz
Jackrabbits beat Aztecs, grab DSL title
BARSTOW — There’s nothing like waiting until the last inning of the season finale to clinch the Desert Sky League championship.
That’s what the Victor Valley softball team did with a five-run seventh in its 9-4 victory over Barstow on Wednesday.
Tears of joy flowed down first-year Victor Valley coach Joe Campbell’s face as he talked about taking the league title.
“I can’t even describe how I feel,” Campbell said. “I honestly can’t believe I was able to accomplish this in my first year. This really establishes my coaching career, and establishes that Victor Valley softball isn’t a team to be messed with.”
Victor Valley rose to the occasion in a game with high stakes. A loss would have created a three-way tie for first place with Burroughs and Silverado.
“I just kept the faith that my defense was going to make the plays to keep us in the game,” Victor Vallley pitcher Leann Eide said. “Then our offense would eventually get going.”
B.B. Bates began the Jackrabbits surge in the seventh with a double. Laura Lopez followed with another double to give the Jackrabbits a 5-4 lead. After Alex Tia singled, Jessica Bright knocked in Laura Lopez to make it 6-4. The floodgates opened when another runner scored on a wild pitch to make the game 7-4, and Eide’s two-run single capped the scoring.
“We really struggled in the first part of the season,” Bates said. “No one believed that we were able to do it. We were able to prove all of the doubters wrong.”
Barstow coach Dan Smith attributed the seventh inning collapse to just plain bad luck.
“The kids played their hearts out,” Smith said. “Mistakes just jumped up and bit us like a snake again. The kids worked extremely hard. It’s just one of those seasons.”
Victor Valley took a 2-1 lead in the third when Brynna Laidler walked and scored on a base hit by Eide. A Barstow error gave the Jackrabbits a 3-1 lead in the fourth, and Jessica Bright made it 4-2 with a home run in the fifth.
Victor Valley 011 110 5 — 9 12 n/a
Barstow 100 120 0 — 4 4 n/a
Idie and Bright; Zamora and Schreiner. WP — Idie; LP — Zamora; 2B — Sanchez (V). HR — Bright (V).
Jason Blasco can be reached at 256-4122 or via e-mail at jason_blasco@link.freedom.com.
