SOFTBALL – Valley Christian squanders six-run lead as Lakewood gets walk-off victory

March 22, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

LAKEWOOD-Sometimes there are games that get away from you, then there’s the Valley Christian High softball game against host Lakewood High last Thursday. The Defenders held a lead of 3-0 going to the bottom of the third inning and 7-1 after four and a half innings.

Then, it all came crumbling down in the bottom of the seventh as the Lancers sent eight batters to the plate and walked it off on a bases-loaded single from Kaitlyn Lewis with none out in a 9-8 victory.

“Oh, it’s fine,” said V.C. head coach Chet Kingery. “We just have to get better at-bats at the end. We got selfish with our at-bats swinging at balls when we were up in the count with runners in scoring position. That hurts more than losing this game.”

V.C. was up 7-4 heading into the final frame when sophomore right fielder Tallulah Ireland reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a two-out wild pitch. But sophomore pitcher Rachel Zhang, who was up to 108 pitches, didn’t have her best stuff in the bottom of the seventh. She walked Jamie Ramirez on five pitches and gave up a double to Abby Morris on the next pitch. Then a walk to Elisa De La Torre and an infield single from Natalia Cobarruvias that ricocheted off the glove of freshman third baseman Molly Douglas loaded the bases. That would be followed by a walk to Isabel Jovel on six pitches and singles to Izzy Rueda and Isabella Polanco to tie the game.

“You’re comfortable, but you’re not,” said Kingery of the early leads. “You always want more because anything can happen.”

Junior center fielder Choyce Chambers led off the game by reaching second on an error but would be stranded at third. Meanwhile, Zhang got out of a little damage in the bottom of the first and retired six straight at one point. Douglas then began the third with a double to the right field gap and scored on a single from junior catcher Peyton Kingery. She was briefly replaced by freshman pinch runner Jewel Malae and on a 1-1 count, senior first baseman Kayla Martin smacked a home run over the right fence.

In the next inning, senior left fielder Zoee Barrett’s solo home run over the left center fence made it 4-1 and one inning later, Kingery’s third home run of the season got the scoring going again. With one out, senior shortstop Britton Brown singled to center, and Ireland would be safe on a fielder’s choice. That would be followed by a double from Barrett to make it 5-1. Two batters later, a base hit from Douglas plated Ireland. When the game had concluded, the Defenders had compiled a dozen hits, marking the eighth time they have posted at least 10 hits in a game, and the three home runs brings the season total to 13.

“We work hard on swinging the bats well, and that’s what we do,” said Chet Kingery. “We can put the ball over the fence one through nine. It makes the pitcher stress out the whole game.”

Barrett went two for three with two runs driven in while Brown, Douglas and Peyton Kingery all went two for four. The first eight in the batting lineup all had at least one hit.

On the other side, Zhang was laboring throughout most of the game as the Lancers stranded a pair of runners in four of the first five innings as she was up to 91 pitches through five innings. Her 140 pitches thrown are a season-high and the third time this season the V.C. pitching staff has thrown over 100 pitches in a game.

“That’s making your pitches,” said Chet Kingery of Zhang’s early success. “She made the pitches when they counted early in the game. Late in the game, we didn’t make our pitches when they counted, and it hurt.

“I don’t know if it was fatigue; she hasn’t pitched a whole lot lately,” he continued. “It could have been fatigue. I’m not going to make any excuses for it. But it looked like she was holding onto the ball too hard; too tight and trying to guide it instead of just throwing.”

This was the second time V.C. faced a Moore League opponent and both times resulted in slugfests. On Mar. 11 against Long Beach Poly High, the Defenders had a 4-0 lead after the first inning and were up 6-4 going to the fifth. They had to rally for a run in the bottom of the seventh before winning in the ninth, 9-7.

“Every team is good; you have to play seven innings,” said Chet Kingery. “That’s just what it is. It has nothing to do with the Moore League or the Olympic League or any other league because they’re good teams in every league.”

Despite the loss to the Lancers, the Defenders are off to the program’s best start through the first 10 games in over two and a half decades. Last season, V.C. lost its season-opener to Cerritos High, then reeled off six straight wins before heading into its spring break at 7-3. The 2005 team, which finished at 21-6, also won seven of its first 10 games. The Defenders will be off until Apr. 1 when they begin Olympic League action at Heritage Christian High, one of three league teams well above .500.

“I actually kind of dig this loss because now they have an uneasy feeling,” said Chet Kingery. “Now there is a little fire going into league that they don’t want to feel this feeling. Now we’re going to punch somebody in the face, for lack of better words.”