HIGGINSVILLE, Mo. - The California Pintos finished the softball season in second place at the Class 2 District 13 tournament Oct. 13, following a 12-2 loss to Holden.
The Pintos defeated the Versailles Tigers 2-1 in the first round game and defeated the Sherwood Marksmen 3-2 in nine innings in the semifinal game to advance to the championship round.
Head coach Steven Stock said getting to the championship game was exciting for the team.
"One of our goals, starting when I got here two years ago, was to just get better every year; and last year, we won one game (in districts) and this year we won two," Stock said. "Getting to where we ended up (in) the district championship was a step in the right direction for us."
In the championship game, the Pintos found themselves in a hole early, as Holden scored five runs in the first inning and two in the second inning to make it a 7-0 game.
Stock said Holden was a strong team when it came to hitting.
"We knew going in that they were one of the better hitting teams," Stock said. "When I was putting together my scouting report, another coach I talked to said that he thought they were one of the best hitting teams in Missouri. So, we knew coming in, that they could hit."
California scored its first run of the game in the top of the 4th inning on a groundout by Hannah Hill to make it 7-1. Holden responded in the bottom of the inning to make it 8-1.
The Pintos scored one more run in the top of the fifth, as with two outs, Lauren Hill forced an error on a throw from third to first base to keep the inning alive and a run scored on the play to make it 8-2.
Holden scored three of their four runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a base-clearing triple with two outs to make it 11-2 before scoring the final run to make it 12-2.
Holden scored 12 runs on 1o hits. California was able to limit Holden's scoring ability, as Holden only scored one run during the fourth inning and was held scoreless in the third and fifth inning. But Holden's offense was able to break through in the sixth inning and scored four more runs to make it 12-2.
Stock said the team competed well in the game.
"After that 5-0 lead until the bottom of the sixth, it was basically a 3-2 game; so I was real proud of the girls and how they competed and how they came back," Stock said. "It could have been easy to fold over and say 'well, we're down 5-0; we're done.'
"They competed well and came back and I was proud of them for it."
In the first round game against Versailles, both teams scored their runs in the first inning, as California led 2-1 after the first. California scored two runs on three hits, but had four errors in the game. Versailles scored one run on four hits and had three errors in the game.
California had a chance to expand its lead in the bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded, but they were unable to capitalize on the scoring chance.
Versailles had a chance to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning, with a runner on third base and two outs, but California made the final out on a fly ball to right field to end the game.
In the semifinal round game, the Pintos trailed 1-0 after Sherwood scored in the first inning until California put up two runs in the top of the third to gain a 2-1 lead. Sherwood tied the game in the bottom of the third and both teams' pitching held their opponents in check into extra innings, where California scored one run in the ninth to take a 3-2 lead. In the game, the Pintos did not have a baserunner from the fifth to eighth innings.
In the ninth inning, Lauren Spillars drew a lead off walk and then stole second base. Camryn Schlup then advanced Spillars to third base with a single and with runners on the corners and no outs, Hannah Hill hit a single into right field that gave the Pintos the lead. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Schlup struck out the final batter with the tying run on base to win the game for California.
The win against Sherwood was a nice accomplishment, said Stock, as Sherwood was 17-2 and their only losses came in extra innings.
California finished the season with a record of 15-10.