On May 9, Aragon softball (9-17 overall, 5-9 league) battled it out with their longtime rivals, the Hillsdale Knights (16-9-1 overall, 8-6 league), in a competitive night of softball. The annual rivalry game went into extra innings, with the Knights coming out on top, winning 2-1 over the Dons.
Aragon freshman pitcher Makayla Hafoka shut down the Hillsdale offense in the first inning, preventing any runs from scoring. Hillsdale senior pitcher Lexi Kuka, did the same, leaving the score 0-0 at the end of the first inning.
“I felt I pitched an amazing game as a freshman,” Hafoka said. “People not having a clue who you are and then pitching eight shutout innings is something that is very good.”
In the top of the second, Hillsdale found more success, getting a runner on second with two outs. However, a clean infield play by the Dons off a grounder resulted in the third out, leaving the slate clean heading into the bottom of the second. In their at-bat, the Dons struggled to find success, having one walk but no runs scored.
The teams continued to fight to be the first on the board, getting numerous runners on base, but to no avail. Hillsdale came close in the 5th inning after a triple left a runner on third with two outs. However, a great catch of a line drive by sophomore shortstop Taylor Workman held the run from scoring. Aragon also came close in the 5th when two back-to-back singles left freshman Aliyah Adle and Workman in scoring position on second and third with two outs. However, Hillsdale cleanly fielded the next grounder for the third out.
The game went into extra innings as the score remained 0-0 in the 7th inning. By the 9th inning, both teams had stranded a combined 10 runners on base and were still yet to score. However, this changed when Hillsdale had a breakthrough in their offense when two grounders in a row put the Knights up on the board. They added to their lead shortly later, when a third hit had the second runner making it home.
Aragon came out fighting in response, finding themselves with runners on 2nd and 3rd with only one out. It was at this point Aragon scored their first of the night off a ground out. Yet Hillsdale held off the Dons, and ultimately a pop fly catch ended the game with a score of 2-1.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a tight softball game going overtime into nine innings,” said junior and catcher Destiny Garcia. “The energy and the excitement is what I pictured the game to look like.”
Despite the loss, the Dons were proud of the result, as they were anticipating a challenging game and were pleasantly surprised at how close it was.
“I think the team did fantastic,” Hafoka said. “We had little to no errors in the field, our energy was phenomenal, Hillsdale managed to hit a few balls into gaps which caused them to get a few runs in.”
Adle, Aragon’s left-fielder, agreed, highlighting the team’s high spirits throughout the competitive play.
“We just had really good energy throughout the whole game,” Adle said. “I think without the energy, we would have flopped.”
However, there was definitely space for improvement, and Hafoka felt the Don’s offense was lacking that same energy.
“Our bats could have been more alive,” Hafoka said. “We managed to get runners on base but never managed to score.”
Nerves also affected the large number of underclassmen on the team, as for many of them, it was their first time playing before such a large audience.
“I was very excited, but also nervous, because it was my first big game,” Adle said. “I tried to go into it [as] just another game.”
That being said, Garcia was proud of the team’s performance under pressure.
“Something we did really well is not let the crowd or minor errors affect us,” Garcia said, “There were situations where Hillsdale had girls in scoring positions but we were still able to finish the inning without any of them scoring.”
Being in the building stages of the program, the girls ultimately had a positive outlook of their season.
“From the beginning of the season to now, it was such a big difference,” Adle said. “We improved so much as a team, and we also created a really strong bond between us.”
The team looks forward to improving on their success next year.
“Overall being a young team comes with its struggles, and we often beat ourselves in games,” Hafoka said. “But I think this was a very good season and I am excited for what’s to come next season.”
