MONTEREY – Grades aren’t always determined by the outcome as much as the performance.
Figuring out where you are as a softball program early in the season often happens when challenges arise.
“There is a limit, though, to how far teaching moments go,” Monterey High softball pitcher Ella Myers said. “We were not prepared for this – compared to who we’ve played on our schedule. It was a shock.”
If there were any hangover effects for Monterey after absorbing an 11-0, five-inning loss on Tuesday to nationally-ranked St. Francis of Mountain View, it wasn’t visible.
Instead, the Toreadores went out and got some redemption Wednesday when they avenged a tournament loss last weekend to North Salinas with a 7-3 win.
“We played St. Francis to see where we are at,” Monterey coach Michael Royster said. “We will grow from that game. We have to.”
Central Coast Section Division II champions the past two years, Monterey is one of three teams still undefeated in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division.
“Tonight was super important,” said Myers, who struck out nine to get the win. “It was a league game. We were pissed about Tuesday. This was a revenge game.”
While Myers was talking about the setback to St. Francis, she could have easily been speaking about a loss to North Salinas in a tournament on Saturday – a game Myers didn’t play in.
“We needed to keep our league record clean and shut down their momentum,” said Myers, last year’s Herald Softball Player of the Year.
Playing in a division where five teams won CCS divisional titles last season, and a sixth played for a title, Royster wanted a stronger non-league schedule, which is why Mitty of San Jose is also on the schedule this weekend.
“I scheduled St. Francis because our team earned the right to play that game,” Royster said. “He (coach) wanted to play us. You don’t turn down playing a nationally ranked team.”
For two innings, Monterey matched zeros with the Lancers, thinking it had taken a 1-0 lead in the third before the runner was called out at the plate.
“The score isn’t reflective of how we played against St. Francis,” Royster said. “We did not beat ourselves. We turned a double play in the first inning, loaded the bases in the second. We had a run taken away from us. We played clean.”
Missed opportunities, however, crippled the Toreadores as St. Francis came up in the bottom half of the third and launched a pair of home runs that accounted for four runs. By the fifth inning, they were down by 10.
“St. Francis was in our heads,” Myers said. “We didn’t have enough confidence in ourselves. People told us we weren’t going to win. They were like a high-quality summer traveling team.”
St. Francis – ranked in the Top 3 in the state over the past four years – has had five of its six games shortened this season because of the 10-run rule. Those six opponents were all playoff teams last season.
While there is a sense of humility in absorbing a loss like that, it may have lit a fire under the Toreadores – particularly with the bats, which had failed to score in their last two games.
Likely fueled by the lopsided loss to North Salinas on Saturday, Monterey made amends with seven runs Wednesday, as Denae Lee had three hits, including a homer and five RBI.
Royster noted the league season is rough, “you’re playing playoff caliber teams each game. If you do well in league, you’ll probably do well in the postseason.”
Seven of the eight teams in the Gabilan Division last year not only reached the postseason, but reached the semifinals in their respective divisions.
Anytime you’ve got a Division I hurler in the circle like Myers, who is also among of the more dangerous hitters in the Gabilan, expectations are enormous.
Yet, settling on a lineup with so many new faces has Royster trying to give multiple players at least 20 at-bats against talented opponents, while tinkering with the batting order.
As a result, Monterey had suffered two shutout losses, while manufacturing runs in one-run decisions over Capuchino of San Bruno and two-time CCS champion Alvarez in a 6-2 overall start.
“It’s a game of failure,” Royster said. “How do you handle it? We have to find a way to protect Ella (Myers) at the plate.”
St. Francis respected Myers by intentionally walking the UC Santa Barbara-bound junior, who is 5-1 in the circle this year.
Lee’s performance Wednesday could help solidify the heart of the order. The catcher came up late last season and hit four homers in 20 at-bats.
Ashley Gallagher, who collected two more hits against North Salinas, has sprayed the ball around the field, hitting .386, while Myers added a pair of hits and drove in a run.
“Some of the younger players might feel some pressure,” Myers said. “But this group is doing an amazing job of learning. They are going with it.”
Myers, who has hit 23 home runs in her first three years – including a pair this year, missed the first five weeks after qualifying for the state wrestling championships.
“Some of these kids are getting their opportunities,” Royster said. “The sharks are in the water. We have to navigate the waters. We just need a couple of timely hits.’’
