The afternoon began with everyone on the verge of tears. It ended with overwhelming exuberance.
On a day remembering a lost teammate, in a doubleheader against Laguna-Acoma, McCurdy softball completed two incredible comebacks from down 11 runs, and — not a typo — 17 runs, in two wins to start to turn their season around.
The Bobcats could not get an out to start the second game. The first 14 Hawks batters all reached base and scored; McCurdy made five errors in the first inning, and gave up 15 runs. After a baserunning miscue ended their half of the first, they were soon trailing 17-0.
At that point, coach Joe Valdez subbed out seven of the nine lineup spots, hoping to add a boost to the team. They had already seen themselves come back from a double-digit deficit earlier that day. But the 15-run first inning felt quite deflating.
Instead, McCurdy responded with eight runs in the bottom of the second.
Alissa Maestas finished the day 10-for-10 at the plate, with a total of 11 RBIs and nine runs scored. Her biggest of the day was a grand slam in the second inning, on a line drive that split the left- and centerfielders and rolled deep into the outfield.
“I’ve never, ever done that in my life,” Maestas said when told her stat line. “That’s actually really cool.”
In both the third and fourth innings, the Bobcats let up two and scored five, Maestas’ prowess continuing.
Before the fifth inning, both teams were told that it would be the last inning before the time limit. Sunset was passing, and the park’s lights turned on. An adult softball team was waiting by the field at the Industrial Park regional sportsplex for their turn to play, and instead watched the end of the game.
Haylee Valdez, well over 200 pitches on the day after a complete game earlier in the day and taking over this game in the second inning, answered the call with a quick 1-2-3 inning, giving McCurdy a chance with the score now 21-18. The ending almost felt inevitable.
Except, then McCurdy recorded two quick outs on two pitches, and perhaps all their work would be for naught. Then, two walks, a wild pitch and an RBI single by Maestas brought the score within one. Another single by Valdez and a walk loaded the bases. Then, a passed ball brought Maestas sprinting home and diving across the plate.
Tie game.
“I had to get there,” Maestas said. “And I was going to do any and everything I could to score, to help my team.”
Another walk, and the bases were loaded again, sending Ashlee Arambula to the plate.
“I was scared to strike out,” the senior said. “But I really wanted to win this game.”
She took a called strike, two balls, a swing and miss, then a third ball. A fourth ended the game. And Ximena Quezada (running for the pitcher) trotted home as the winning run.
“This is the team that should be playing every game,” said Joe Valdez. “This is the team.”
“We all played as a team,” Maestas said. “And that’s what we’ve been fighting for the whole year. And for us to finally do it, like this, it was amazing.”
The first game was similar, yet not at all. Haylee Valdez had pitched a scoreless first, and McCurdy took a 2-0 lead. The Hawks then scored four runs in the second, and nine in a seemingly never-ending third inning, pushing the score to 13-2. Valdez came back from that to pitch a scoreless fourth, fifth and sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats scored seven runs in the fourth inning, taking advantage of a pair of errors and a few big hits. They added five more in the fifth inning on six hits, then taking the lead. They pushed it even further with four more runs in the sixth inning, and suddenly had flipped the game to a seven-run lead.
Valdez continued to labor from the circle. Laguna-Acoma scored three runs and threatened to bring it closer. Then the Bobcats doubled off a runner on a pop fly, and Valdez registered her sixth strikeout to end the game, in doing so snapping a two-game losing streak with a 20-16 victory.
Joe Valdez could not explain what happened.
“Maybe it was just being home, playing on their field that they know, with their fans,” he said. “That’s all I can think it was.”
It was, in fact, their first home game of the year.
While not part of their district schedule, the Bobcats certainly needed a win after losing eight of their last nine games. The wins over a good Hawks team could give the momentum they need to finish strong and repeat as district champions.
“We were doing this for our friend, who passed away,” Maestas said. “We wanted that to be in memory of her.”
Remembering a Teammate
Estrella “Star” Padilla was part of the softball team her freshman year, in 2019, and an active cheerleader.
Her death in a car accident in December sent shockwaves around the McCurdy community.
The gray sky during a pregame ceremony matched the mood. The Lady Bobcats gave Padilla a “final walk” as groups carried her jersey around the basepaths. Joe Valdez presented a jersey to Padilla’s family, and said they would retire her No. 3 jersey. The number was painted in the dirt behind home plate.
“She was always a great person and brought everybody up,” said Haylee Valdez.
“She could light up a room with just her smile,” Maestas added. “She was literally a star.”