On March 24, the Aragon softball team (9-7) defeated Carlmont (3-12-1) in a home game that lasted just three innings before the high school mercy rule was invoked, ending 18-3.
The California Interscholastic Federation has a mercy rule stating that if any team has a 15-run lead after 3 or 4 innings, the game will automatically end.
Going into the match, the team knew they had a strong lineup assembled.
“If we do what we’re capable of doing, we can definitely put up a good fight against [Carlmont],” said freshman and first and third baseman Natalie Jia.
A win as dominant as this one required the entire team to put in both time and effort leading up to game day.
“We had good practices this week and last week,” said senior and co-captain Elizabeth Magness. “I think we’ve been more focused recently.”
As the home team, Aragon began the game fielding and played a steady half-inning of defense, with only one completed run for Carlmont, 1-0.
Switching sides, Aragon continued their steady start, following up the team’s first runs, scored by junior and co-captain Taylor Workman, along with three others. When the umpire signaled the end of the first inning, Aragon had pulled away from Carlmont with a 4-1 lead.
“We had some really solid moments in offense and defense combined,” said sophomore and center fielder Zoe Farrigan. “[And] every time they made an error, we took advantage of it.”
As the second inning began, the team’s defense proved their skill, performing a one-two-three inning, striking out Carlmont’s first three batters, not letting any reach first base during their turn at bat.
“The first inning started off a little slow, maybe because we weren’t communicating as much,” said senior and co-captain Destiny Garcia. “The second inning [was] when we really locked in and started cheering, screaming and hollering.”
At the start of Aragon’s half-inning, Carlmont’s defense took a major blow when they lost their pitcher to an injury.
“That was definitely a turning point, because they didn’t have another pitcher [to replace] her,” Farrigan said. “They [had] to put in a random girl.”
Now at an advantage, the team capitalized on their second-inning turn at bat to extend their lead, continuously filling up bases and scoring runs.
“Our offense was pretty good,” Farrigan said. “We were hitting singles, which is what matters — single after single — and that really got in their heads.”
Aragon’s offense then maintained a scoring rhythm for almost an hour. When the inning came to an end, the tally had reached 18-1.
“They hit really well today,” said head coach Lizabeth Roscoe at the end of the game.
Since Aragon had created a large lead for themselves, the third inning was Carlmont’s last chance to catch up, or else the game would finish early.
With persistence, Carlmont managed to bring home two more runs before Aragon’s defense locked down on them, recording three outs. With that, the half-inning came to a close and the mercy rule was triggered, ending the game.
Regardless of the opponent, the team strives to keep their performance and attitude high in every match.
“Sometimes we’ll face teams that are easier to beat, and sometimes we’ll face teams that are super difficult to beat,” Farrigan said. “But no matter what, we need to play our best … at the level that we know we can.”
Now, the team looks ahead to April 16, when they will have the home advantage in their game against The King’s Academy.
