South Gate Stops Verdugo Hills on a Little Deja Vu

There’s a lot of history between Verdugo Hills and South Gate highs, and it repeated itself in the City Section 3-A Division softball playoffs.

For the second consecutive year, Verdugo Hills saw its season ended by the Rams by an identical score of 2-1 in a semifinal game Wednesday at South Gate Park.

Pitchers Kim Wood of Verdugo Hills and Candice Esquivel of South Gate battled it out, same as last year.

The deciding run scored on a close play, just like last time.

Also reminiscent of 1997, South Gate withstood a seventh-inning rally by the Dons.

“I was pumped up to play them. It makes the game more exciting,” said Jeanise Smith, who had one of Verdugo Hills’ three hits.

“We came after them. We gave them a fight. They just gave us a little bigger, harder fight.”

Smith, the Dons’ second baseman, is a veteran of such fights. Smith, Wood and right-fielder Rhianna Slimak are seniors who were on last year’s team and the squad that beat South Gate in the 1996 title game.

“I’m almost like, ‘Hi, guys, how’s it going,’ ” Smith said with a laugh. “But I don’t mind playing them. It’s just disappointing that we lost and I won’t be able to come back and try again next year.”

Verdugo Hills (21-6) fell behind, 2-0, before making its run in the seventh.

No. 2 batter Jennifer Lombardo doubled inside the right-field line to open the inning.

Lombardo hesitated at second base before going to third and the throw from right-fielder Annette Largaspada was on target but Belinda Vargas dropped the ball.

After a groundout by Nikki Shaw, cleanup batter Crystal Dingman drove Lombardo home with a single to left. Smith followed with a line drive to left that was caught by Tenika Castillo. Wood grounded out to third, ending the game.

“We’re both good teams, and I was nervous the whole game,” said Esquivel (13-1), who struck out three and did not walk a batter. “I expected it to be like this, but that seventh inning, I was like, ‘Oh, no, they can’t tie this.’ ”

The Dons didn’t, and Wood (20-5) had her second consecutive semifinal defeat. She allowed seven hits, struck out three and walked one.

“It’s disappointing,” a tearful Wood said. “But we did the best that we could and we didn’t give up. We left our hearts out there.”

South Gate (16-3), which plays Westchester in the final, scored its decisive run in the sixth when Vargas hit a ground-rule double onto a paved walkway in right-center. She was sacrificed to third by Patty Espinosa and raced home when the Dons took their time making the play at first.

The Rams scored in the fifth when Caroline Rangel was safe at first on a fielder’s choice and stole second. She stole third and scored when the throw by Shaw, the catcher, went into left field.

“I love playing South Gate because they push our buttons and we push theirs,” Verdugo Hills Coach Andrea Standley said.

“You have to play good, clean ball against them, and we made some errors, and they beat us. Again.”