By Jacob Wilson/Garden Grove Journal
The Garden Grove Argonauts lost the CIF Division 4 softball championship game 1-0 in 11 innings to Kaiser of Fontana Friday evening at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
When Garden Grove pitcher Jasmine Antunez gave up a leadoff hit for the first time in the 11th inning, Argonaut head coach John Petrie wasn’t worried. The best player he ever coached had already pitched 10 shutout innings, including a string of 15 straight outs.
“With Jasmine pitching, the top of the order didn’t do much against us,” Petrie said. “I thought we were in a good position.”
Indeed, Antunez easily retired the next two batters: first on a sacrifice bunt that moved Kaiser pinch runner Rebecca Garcia to second base. The next batter grounded out to second baseman Camden Orta.
But for the first time since the fifth inning, Kaiser had a runner at third base. And it’s top RBI producer Jesslene Contreras was at the plate. Contreras was 0-4 against Antunez but hadn’t been up with anyone on yet.
Instead of either a called strike or a big hit deciding the outcome, a bad bounce decided the game. Antunez’s first pitch to Contreras skipped to the backstop and Garcia scored the winning run.
Also on Friday, Pacifica’s baseball team won the CIF Division 2 title with a 3-2 victory over Aliso Niguel at Dodger Stadium.
