07/26/2024
Uranga's Walk-Off Single Sinks Texas West, 2-1
By Don Eskins
Carlsbad National upset Texas West, 2-1, in what turned out to be a nine-inning ballgame, during semi-final round action of the 12U Little Leage Softball Regional Tournament in Waco, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, July 25.
Carlsbad National will now take on Louisiana in a winner-take-all regional final at 1:30 p.m. (MST), on Friday, July 26. The game will be televised by ESPN.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Carlsbad National's Brooklyn Cook-Palma drove in Ahualani Sanchez, on a fielder’s choice, to tie the game up at 1-1 and send the game into the ninth inning.
After shutting down Texas West in the top of the ninth, Carlsbad's girls rallied to put the game away in the bottom half of the frame.
With Serenity Medrano on second base, Camy Uranga stroked a walk-off single down the third base line to give Carlsbad the 2-1 come-from-behind victory.
"We couldn't be more proud of their effort. They played from beginning to end with everything they had," said assistant coach June Hernandez.
In the circle to pick up the win was Brooklyn Cook-Palma. The hard throwing lefty gave up just 1 run, on one hit with 12 strikeouts and 4 walks.
Cook-Palma will be unable to pitch during the final. According to Little League softball rules hurlers who throw for more than six innings in a game must take a full day's rest before pitching again.
Texas West pulled their starter, who had kept Carlsbad off the soreboard through the first six innings, in an effort to save her for Friday's final should they have won. Carlsbad elected to do just the opposite.
"Our coaching staff felt that we couldn't worry about the future. We needed to beat Texas West in order to get to the final," she said. "We felt Brooklyn gave us the best chance to do that, so we kept her in, and we were right."
Expected to start for Carlsbad against Louisiana will be Shayla Blaine.
"Louisianna has an amazing team, a great pitcher, and we have a lot of respect for them," said coach Hernandez. "But we feel like our kids can play with the best of teams and possess grit. We're confident that with a good solid effort, our girls can win the game."
Following an 11-0 loss in their tournament inaugural to Texas West, Carlsbad battled their way through the loser's bracket to defeat Texas East, 6-5, before upending Texas West, 2-1.
Caption: Camylla Uranga and Brooklyn Cook-Palma
