Kaitlyn Lim’s one out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth propelled the Woodbridge softball team to a 7-6 victory over El Dorado in a CIF-SS Division 3 first round playoff game Thursday, May 18, at Bill Barber Park.
The Warriors (16-13) advance to round two and will play Cerritos Tuesday, May 23, at 3:15 p.m. at Bill Barber Park.
With the score tied, 6-6, in the bottom of the eighth, Ashlee Laver led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Dana Demo. Sofie Adams bunted for a base hit as Laver advanced to third and then was pinched run for by Taylor Wojciechowski. Lim drilled a shot to left center – her third hit of the game – for the game winner.
“I wanted to hit the ball to the outfield, even if it was an out, to drive the run home,” said Lim, who smashed her eighth homer of the season in the first inning.
The Warriors got brilliant relief pitching from freshman Taylor Caudill who held the Golden Hawks (15-8-1) to one run over the final 5 and 1/3 innings.
El Dorado scored five times in the third to take a 5-2 lead.
“It definitely is nerve racking but once I got a few outs I settled down and get my confidence,” said Caudill, who added an RBI single in the first inning giving Woodbridge a 2-0 lead. “This is the first time I’ve been in this situation, so I focused on throwing strikes.”
Warriors coach Jerry Rose said his team didn’t panic.
“We’ve had comebacks like this all season and we didn’t panic,” said Rose. “The best part of this team is that they are all underclassmen. They took it pitch-by-pitch and executed.”
Woodbridge retook the lead, 6-5, after Sabrina Dallas was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth. Amanda Vos’ RBI single tied the game at, 6-6, in the fifth inning.
Hannah Sasaki and Jo Michaels each had two hits apiece for the Warriors. Lim, who also had two assists from right field and nearly two others, scored two runs, as did Sasaki.