Softball: Something’s got to give for Ayala, Mission Viejo
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Two teams that came into the season with different expectations and then went in different directions clash today in the second round of the Southern Section-Toyota Division II softball playoffs.
Fourth-seeded Mission Viejo (23-6-1) is playing host to Ayala (20-10-1), and there’s nothing about this game that isn’t intriguing.
Mission Viejo came into the season ranked No. 11 in The Times’ top 25 based on the Diablos’ performance last season -- albeit not their first-round playoff loss to Anaheim Canyon -- because it was such a young team in 2007 and had, among other things, Michelle Tait returning to the pitcher’s circle in 2008.
Although Mission Viejo was 22-6 a year ago -- about what it is today -- I doubt you’d find a player or coach who says they didn’t expect to be better at this point, especially after that late-season loss to Tesoro knocked them out of the top 25 for the second time this season. Presumably, my expectations for the program was not higher than the players’ themselves.
On the other hand, youthful Ayala was completely off the radar. Ayala’s last-minute inclusion in the Nike Faster to First tournament and subsequent victories over La Palma Kennedy and Corona Santiago on successive days -- while those teams were ranked No. 1 and 2 in the state and nation -- catapulted the Bulldogs into the national spotlight. For a few weeks, everyone knew Jessica Hall and Nani St. Germain. The team reassessed its commitment and decided it wanted to go for the gold.
In recent weeks, Ayala has tumbled back to earth. It lost three games to Sierra League opponents it should have beaten (on paper, anyway). Still, it has shown it can rise to the level of competition.
No matter the outcome, Ayala is today where Mission Viejo was a year ago. The Bulldogs have beaten teams better than Mission Viejo. With a year under its belt, can Mission Viejo finally fulfill its expectations?
-- Martin Henderson