Out of the many great softball teams Obie Galindo has coached at Sultana High School, this season’s squad has earned the honor of being one of the most impressive offensively.
“This is probably one of the best lineups I’ve coached,” Galindo said Wednesday afternoon. “Home run-wise we are seeing the ball better and I think our runs can start with the bottom of the lineup. When the bottom can get on for the one through five that's huge. It’s a blessing.”
The Sultans rode this high-powered offense to a comfortable 21-2 victory over Apple Valley to clinch the outright Mojave River League title. It is the first time Sultana has won the outright MRL title since 2019.
“I am happy for the girls. It is well-deserved, they played hard all year. We played some good teams and lost some games,” Galindo said. “Oak Hills is no slouch. We got one out of two against them, which was the goal.”
Sultana defeated Oak Hills last week to set up the MRL-clinching scenario against Apple Valley in the season finale. Oak Hills lost a 9-8 game against Apple Valley prior to losing to Sultana to give the Bulldogs two league losses. The Sultans finished 9-1 in league play.
Continued offensive dominance
Wednesday’s win gave Sultana its eighth win in a row to finish the season. In those eight games, Sultana outscored opponents 98-9, scoring double-digits in seven of the eight games.
Sultana swatted four total home runs against the Sun Devils, two of which coming off the bat of Avery Rodriguez.
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The junior jump-started Sultana’s offense with a towering three-run home run in the first inning that may have also left the yard on Apple Valley’s baseball field. This was no strange feeling for Rodriguez, who led the team with eight home runs heading into the game.
“I was seeing the ball real good today,” Rodriguez said. “I knew that since it was slower pitching that I just had to wait on it a little bit, and the ball just went.”
Rodriguez slugged another home run in the second inning. Unlike the first home run, Rodriguez was unsure if she left the yard again as it tucked over the left field wall.
The third baseman admitted that she may have gotten some help from the howling wind that pushed the ball out to left field.
“Yeah, I got lucky on that one a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t think it was going to get out so I started sprinting but I looked up and saw it got out.”
Maria Perez and Isabel Avalos each hit a home run. Perez finished 4 for 4 at the plate with four RBIs and three runs, and Avalos finished 2 for 4 with two runs.
“I love having my teammates around me. They’re really good hitters and it takes a lot of the pressure off of me in the four-spot (in the lineup),” Rodriguez said.
Preparing for a deep playoff run
Galindo is no stranger to playoff success as the Sultans won the CIF-Southern Section and CIF State Southern California Regional titles in 2021. The long-time head coach intentionally scheduled tough opponents early this season knowing this group has potential to go on a deep playoff run of its own.
“When I scheduled preseason I specifically scheduled teams like Etiwanda, Rancho Cucamonga, Citrus Valley that have great pitchers so they’re not going to be shocked to see it,” Galindo said.
The Sultans have a great pitcher of their own who will play a key role in the team’s playoff push. Savannah Vanderpool pitched all five innings on Wednesday with only one earned run and eight strikeouts. The junior pitched 143 of the team’s 166 regular-season innings with a 1.62 ERA and 244 strikeouts.
Much like that 2021 run, Galindo is hoping to see the team’s mixture of great pitching and explosive offense come together to produce a deep run this year.
“Everything has to work. That is what happened in 2021,” Galindo said. “Everything just gelled. Our pitcher pitched, our offense hit and our defense played defense.”
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Prep Softball: Sultana beats Apple Valley, captures the outright Mojave River League title
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