Softball season comes to end once again at state championship

Sierra College freshman Maddy Redinger hit a home run and had three RBIs in three games at the State Championships last week. Credit: Frank Salerno Lenie's Pictures
Sierra College freshman Maddy Redinger hit a home run and had three RBIs in three games at the State Championships last week. Credit: Frank Salerno Lenie's Pictures
Posted: May 20, 2023

The final season for Wolverines softball head coach Darci Brownell has come to an end as Sierra fell 6-5 to the College of San Mateo on Friday.

"This team fought all season long," Brownell said. "The adversity they handled in April and May added to their grit. As a coaching staff we are extremely proud of this group and what they accomplished this season."

In the first game, the Wolverines faced Cerritos and kept it close with the score tied 4-4 going into the fifth inning. Sierra gave up four runs in the top half of the inning and were never able to recover falling 8-6. 

"I am really not sure what went wrong in the circle at the State Championships," Brownell said. "We have pitchers with experience and a pitcher who has been there before. So, nerves could account for missing spots, walking in runs and giving up hits when they were ahead in the count and had two strikes on the batter. They helped carry us all season and did a stellar job for us this year."

Eli Enriquez led the way at the plate with a single, a double and a triple along with two RBIs. Kayley Vaillette hit an RBI double for the Wolverines in the contest.

The loss put Sierra in the losers bracket needing to win four straight games to make it to the state title game. In game two, the Wolverines faced San Jose City College and led 2-1 entering the fifth inning when Jade Henry hit a double to tie the score 2-2. With the game going into extra innings, Maddy Redinger hit a walkoff double in the bottom of the 10th to keep Sierra's playoff hopes alive with a 3-2 win. Amaya Sutton pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts in 10 innings.

This set the Wolverines up for a game against the College of San Mateo on Saturday evening. Sierra trailed 5-3 going into the top of the sixth when Vaillette hit an RBI triple followed by a sac ground out by Haleigh Barlow to tie it 5-5. The game would once again go into extra innings, but this time it didn't go Sierra's way as San Mateo walked it off with a bunt RBI by Mariah Norris. 

Sierra College closes out the 2023 season with a 43-5 record.

"The fight in this team made this season one of the best," Brownell said. "We played many close games this season and several extra-inning games. They never gave up. In the past two seasons we were never shut out and never eight-runned.  That is a special feat. We were the only team from the North who was not eight-runned at the Championships. Watching this team excel and individual players attain goals they had set for themselves was amazing to watch. Team #48 has left their mark on the Sierra softball Legacy. No one will ever break the bond they have! They have a life-long connection. They recorded the best win/loss record in Sierra College softball history at 43-5 and that record is amazing due to the fact we play in the Big 8.  The sophomores on this team were back-to-back conference champs and made back-to-back trips to the State Championships, which to my knowledge has not been accomplished in the 48-year history of Sierra College softball."