West Park lets game slip away in loss to Ponderosa

After winning their first three games, West Park's softball team has lost two straight games. After losing last Thursday to Ponderosa, 4-3, in the bottom of the seventh inning, West Park lost to Chico on Tuesday in eight innings, 8-6. In this game, the Panthers trailed 2-1 in the first inning and 4-2 after the fourth, and 5-4 after five innings before taking a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Chico, however, scored one run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game and then put two more runs on the board in the top of the eighth to win the game. In the game against Ponderosa on March 5, it was a battle of unbeatens clashed at Ponderosa High School, as the visiting West Park's varsity girls' softball team (3-0) faced off against host Ponderosa (7-0). The game was everything everyone thought it would be, close all the way to the end. West Park took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh where Ponderosa rallied to score two runs and win the game, 4-3. West Park pitcher Emma Juarez got the first out of the inning, allowed a single and then got the second out of the inning. West Park was an out away from the win, but then Juarez walked two consecutive batters to load the bases before Ponderosa pinch-hitter Lilliana Labbe stepped up and ripped a single to left field to score two runs and win the game for the Bruins. West Park took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Katie Barber singled, Juarez walked in front of a RBI single from Kayla Bowles. In the third inning, Jolene White walked in front of Isabella Huston, who homered to straight away center field to put the Panthers in front 3-0. However, the Bruins added one run in the bottom of the third and another in the fifth, setting themselves up to win the game in the seventh. It was a bitterly tough loss for the Panthers, but one in which they should learn from. A year ago, the Panthers tied McClatchy for the Metro League title with a 9-1 record and went on to lose in the second round of the playoffs to Vanden, who went on to win the section championship. This year they're hoping for more. "My team is full of extremely strong workers," West Park coach Hailey Stockman said. "We have a few seniors, but we're a younger team and I feel we've finally found our groove as a program and our drive is to be a very good team this year. "We're taking it game-by-game doing the little things, and hopefully the payout will reward us in the end. Our goal is to make the playoffs and go further than last year, but right now we're just taking it game-by-game."