City 4-A Girls Softball : El Camino Real’s Silverman Outpitches Bautista for Title

Lisa Bautista of Banning High School brought impressive credentials into Wednesday’s City 4-A softball final at South Gate Park.

Bautista had a record of 21-3, including 17 no-hitters. She had struck out 46 in three playoff games.

But El Camino Real, duly unimpressed, proceeded to score three runs in the first inning and freshman Beth Silverman shut out the Pilots, 3-0, for El Camino Real’s third straight 4-A softball title and 34th straight victory.

If anything, Bautista’s accomplishments made El Camino Real eager to face her.

“It just made us want to hit her more and show her who’s No. 1,” Silverman said.

Silverman (15-0, with five no-hitters), pitched a five-hitter, working out of a two-runners-on, no-out jam in the first inning.

Karen Walker then led off the bottom of the first inning with a single that hit the second base bag and rolled into center field. Walker advanced to second on a wild pitch, took third on an error and scored on Bautista’s second wild pitch of the inning. Two outs later, Stacy Trapp singled and scored on Sabrina Kuhn’s triple over the head of center fielder Tish Madrigal. Kuhn scored on Darci Stehlik’s single to center.

El Camino Real had two runners picked off second in the first, preventing an even bigger inning. As it turned out, three runs were enough.