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EL SEGUNDO HERALD May 23, 2019 Page 15
Eagles from page 5
runs -- just one earned -- on five hits.
So for the first time since 2009, the Eagles
had advanced to the CIF finals. It marked
the sixth time El Segundo had advanced to a
softball CIF final. El Segundo won the firstever
CIF title in softball in the only division
played in 1974. Led by CIF Player of the Year
Dora Young, the Eagles won their second title
in 1976. CIF Player of the Year Terri Young
and Colleen Glynn led the Eagles to their third
title when they defeated Downey 1-0 in the
1978 final. The other appearance was in 2007.
El Segundo (25-6) went into the CIF Southern
Section Division 4 finals tied with the most
wins in any division and had the Southern
Section’s longest winning streak going at 18
games. The Eagles faced second-seeded Godinez
The Eagles showed their composure, poise and sportsmanship after losing in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship game.
(25-4) from Santa Ana. The Grizzlies
have two Division I recruits in their lineup,
including pitcher Airlin Ramirez and shortstop
Keana Pola. Their formidable hitting lineup
shows little weakness by virtue of their .436
team batting average.
The tone of the game, in front of several
hundred Eagle supporters, was set early. The
Eagles gave their faithful fans hope in the
first inning that a 41-year drought since the
program’s last softball CIF title was ending.
Sophomore shortstop Katie Croxall led off the
game with a first-pitch single to centerfield.
A perfect sacrifice bunt by Audrey Butler put
Croxall into scoring position. Julia Chavez
then knocked in Croxall with an RBI single
to right field for a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately it
would be the only offense the Eagles could
muster all game long.
The Grizzlies took advantage of El Segundo
mental and physical errors as well as wildness
by Eagle pitching to defeat El Segundo 15-1.
Never mind the lopsided loss because two
key plays may have cost El Segundo nine
runs. With one out in the first inning, Reitano
had Samantha Villanueva struck out on a 3-2
pitch. An illegal pitch was called and it forced
a base on balls. The first base umpire was
challenged on the call and his response was,
“Coach, she’s doing it every third pitch.” The
question beckons why it wasn’t called earlier
in the count.
That walk opened the flood gates and Godinez
scored four first inning runs. After the walk,
Keana Pola struck out followed by a single and
two consecutive walks to force in Villanueva to
tie the game. A bases-loaded three-run double
by Andrea Udriate gave her team a 4-1 lead.
With two outs in the second inning, a rare
drop pop fly in foul territory gave Ramirez
a second chance and she delivered a two-run
double. Udirate then hit a two-run double for
a 9-1 lead. The Grizzlies would go on to score
six more runs over the course of the next four
innings and give Godinez its first softball CIF
championship title.
Not many would have predicted a 25-win
season from a team that started 8-6 only to
win 18 consecutive games and advance to the
title game. There were plenty of tears shed
and hugs between the players, but head
coach Megan McCann, in just her third season
at the helm, beamed as she spoke to her
team. “You have nothing to be ashamed of,”
she said. “There are a lot of teams who would
have liked to have been here today, but you
made it happen. We win as a team and we
lose as a team and I’m as proud of you as
our community is.”
The Eagles will lose six seniors to graduation…
but with eight sophomores and one
freshman returning, look for McCann to build
on this ending and return for a deep run again
next season.
With Katie Croxall playing in a CIF final,
she becomes just the fourth player in El
Segundo High School history to have a
parent either play or coach in a CIF final
baseball or softball game. Katie’s father Rob
played in back-to-back CIF title baseball games
in 1989 and 1990. Eric Stevenson played
in both 1989 and 1990 baseball title games
when his legendary father John Stevenson was
the head coach. In 1978, Terri Young helped
lead her team to the softball title while her
son Ben Doucette started as a freshman and
played in the 2006 CIF baseball championship
game. Colleen Glynn was a standout member
of the 1978 CIF winning softball team. Her
daughter Jenna Rich led the Eagles to two
appearances in the CIF title games in 2007
and 2009.
Names in the News
Rhianna Rich (2015) has completed her
senior season at Harvard where she led the
Crimson to a 25-19 record and a berth in the
NCAA Women’s Softball Regional held at the
University of Arizona in Tucson. Rich was a
four-time All-Ivy League player, including being
named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in her
freshman season. Over four seasons, she hit
.379 as the leadoff hitter and was considered
the 25th toughest strikeout at the NCAA Division
I level. Harvard fell to number six Arizona
and then to Colorado State to get eliminated.
The El Camino Warriors have four former
Eagles leading the way. In the Super Regional,
Jaime Galicia has led the El Camino Warriors to this weekend’s
CCCAA State Championship Tournament. Photo by Yvette Blacknell
the Warriors defeated Glendale 14-2 and 7-3 to
advance to the California Community College
Baseball State Championships starting Friday
in Fresno.
Spencer Palmer (2017) was 1-3 with three
RBIs in the first game. Spencer Long (2017)
has been a two-way player all season long,
manning second base and coming in late to
relieve. He was 1-2 and walked four times.
Jamie Galicia (2018) is the ace of the Warrior
staff and improved to 12-2 on the year when he
went seven innings and struck out nine while
lowering his ERA to 1.74. Brenden Casillas
(2018) is one reason Galicia has succeeded
over the last half of the season when he took
over as the starting catcher. In the second game
Palmer walked twice, while Long had a single
and scored a run. He picked up his ninth save
of the season when he pitched the final two
innings and struck out five.
The Warriors advanced and will take on
defending CCCAA State Champions San
Joaquin Delta on Saturday after the Mustangs
defeated Los Medanos College in two games.
In the other state final four matchup, the top
seed from Southern California, Orange Coast
College, will face either Sacramento City College
or Ohlone College.
Cory Lund (2017) has led Williams College
to the NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse
semifinals against Amherst College where the
Ephs fell 12-8. Lund, who is a two-year starting
attacker, was the leading scorer for Williams
with 64 goals this season. He became the first
Eph to score more than 50 goals in a season
in over 15 years. The math major was also
honored as the NESCAC Player of the Week
for his outstanding performance. •
Rhianna Rich, shown here as a senior in 2015, led her Princeton
team to the NCAA Women’s Softball Regional Tournament.
Shanai Owens had one of the Eagles’ five hits in the CIF Southern
Section championship game.
Julia Chavez’s hits an RBI single in the first inning of the CIF
Southern Section Division 4 championship game.