Liberty softball team wins school's first team championship
The CIF Southern Section Division 5 champion Liberty softball team poses with the plaque. (Photo by Rick Rowell) By Doug Spoon, Editor Tak...
By Doug Spoon, Editor
Take a second-year softball program, put four sophomores and four freshmen in the starting lineup, and what have you got?
A CIF champion.
The Liberty High School Bison softball team made its own kind of history Friday, beating Irvine High 5-2 to win the school’s first team championship. Yes, it took only two years after the school opened. And yes, they did it with a squad of virtually all freshmen and sophomores.
“Our Lady Bison are resilient, they’re strong, they are an amazing team, and it’s not just softball,” said Liberty principal Erika Tejeda, who helped present the CIF-SS Division 5 championship plaque to the players in front of the mound at Irvine’s Deanna Manning Stadium. “They’re a family; they’re like sisters. They encourage each other. When we have students going through a lot, they encourage them and let them know they are there for them.
“We are the Herd, and we run in packs. We support each other. If you saw the number of parents in the stands that came out to support our students … we’re a community. And I couldn’t be more proud of our girls.”
It wasn’t always an easy path to the finals for the Bison, who finished the season with a 22-3-1 record. They had to rally from a 6-0 deficit in the final two innings to win at Paraclete, 12-6, in the quarterfinals on May 11. Then in the semifinals two days later, they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to score a 6-3 win at Northwood High in Irvine.
This time, it took the Bison only four batters into the bottom of the first inning to take the lead on a towering three-run home run over the center field fence by sophomore Haley Kitzerow. Scoring ahead of her were sophomore Attiana Thompson, who reached base on a fielder’s choice, and junior Kaylee Fraund, who reached base on an error.
Kitzerow also accounted for the Bison’s two other runs with a line drive double down the left field line in the third inning, again scoring Thompson and Fraund.
The offensive outburst was a huge lift for Kitzerow, whom coach Jeffrey Pena said had been struggling at the plate recently.
“Haley was due," Pena said. “She had a little bit of a struggle the last few games and I actually told her this morning, ‘Hey, today’s your day.’ She put on a show today.”
Kitzerow said she was doing what she knew she had to do with runners on base.
“I knew two runners were on base,” she said. “I had to either score them or move them. That was my job. I had a full count on me; I just stayed calm and stayed through the ball.
“Our No. 1 thing coming into this week was, we have to start strong. We always came back because we had to, but this time our No. 1 goal was to come out with a bang and carry on the energy from there. It’s hard when you go down to get the energy back up. But everyone came out like they’re supposed to today.”
“There was the thing where we always start hitting in the sixth inning,” said Lissette Quinones, one of four starting freshmen along with Andi Clabough, Yasmine Lopez and Brooklyn Abeyta. “I was so happy that we started early this time. Haley’s home run just set us off.”
Irvine pitcher Hyli De Los Santos held Liberty scoreless the rest of the way, helped by two double plays in the final innings. But it didn’t matter. The way sophomore Janessa Guigliano battled on the mound for Liberty, working her way out of jams and holding the Vaqueros to single runs in the second and seventh innings, Liberty’s early lead easily held up.
With one out in the second inning, Guigliano walked two consecutive batters and gave up an RBI single to Shelby Crowe. But she fought back to strike out Annie Schwarzbart and Evelyn Shen to end the threat.
As Irvine tried to stay alive in the bottom of the seventh, Katie Liu hit a one-out single and Harper Vandermolen hit a two-out double for a run. But Guigliano retired Sienna Porter on a groundout to third, and the celebration began.
Guigliano struck out seven and gave up just five hits.
“We just need to be loud and have that energy, because once we have that, we usually do great,” Thompson said. “You have to give credit to Janessa. She’s a great pitcher overall and she knows we have her back.”
“It feels like every game, there’s somebody who steps up and does the job for us,” Pena said. “That’s what I love about this team. It’s not just one or two people you rely on, it’s the whole team. Anybody can come up at any moment, and they have. It’s very special.
“Yes, we started four freshmen, but they came up and they wanted to play. They come in and they make mistakes at first, just like any young player does, and we teach them and tell them, “We’ll move on.’”
To say that the future is bright would be an understatement. There are no seniors to say goodbye to, no regrets after an amazing season. But there’s a challenge, of course, and that’s to do it again.
“These are the moments you play for,” Kitzerow said. “This is why we put in all the hours on and off the field.
“I feel like we’ve set the goal for us in the coming years. Nobody’s moving on yet. This is our team, we’re coming back, and it’s going to be our goal again next year. I feel like we’ve set a standard for us to reach for and get there every year.”
Haley Kitzerow connects for a three-run home run in the first inning Friday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Liberty's Haley Kitzerow celebrates her home run as she rounds first base Friday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Shortstop Kaylee Fraund had two hits and scored two runs in the Bison's victory. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Attiana Thompson scored twice during the championship victory on Friday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
First baseman Attiana Thompson catches a throw from third for the final out. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Lissette Quinones lays down a bunt during the third inning of Friday's game. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Saige Shipman, the hero of the quarterfinals, shows off her hitting form. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Yasmine Lopez had a single and a double in the Bison's 5-2 victory. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Liberty coaches hold up the championship plaque after the game. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Kaylee Fraund and Kayen Brown (4) celebrate Liberty's first CIF team title. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
