Everything fell in to place for Escalon’s varsity softball girls on Saturday, May 23 as the weeks of hard work, commitment and a love for the game led them to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 5 championship. The squad defeated Casa Roble by a 5-1 final, with plenty of fans there to cheer them on at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

It was also somewhat of a full circle moment … first-year varsity softball head coach Lexy Underwood raised the Division 5 blue banner high over her head as she was surrounded by her team on Saturday. The last time Underwood got to hoist a banner was seven years ago, in May 2019 – when she was a senior on the varsity softball team – and the Lady Cougars defeated Linden for the crown. Underwood took over the head coaching spot this year; former head coach Caitlin Schulte served as an assistant and was part of the Section title win as well. Lexy’s dad, Bo Underwood, was also an assistant coach for the team during the season.

Escalon, the number seven seed in D5, got outstanding performances from several players in defeating number five seed Casa Roble to capture the Sac-Joaquin Section title.

Freshman pitcher Tenley Adams – after a shaky first inning in which the Rams scored an unearned run – settled in and threw a no-hitter, along with notching double digit strikeouts. Senior Madi Babasa, on her way to the University of Arizona on a softball scholarship, had a 4-for-4 day at the plate and drove in three of the team’s five runs. Senior Lizzy Allan drove in what proved to be the winning run, putting her team up 2-1 in the top of the sixth with an RBI double.

“The feeling of being able to be there for my team that’s been with me this whole time, through my ups and downs, through everything, knowing that I could support them through what I could do for them, that moment was like probably the best I’ve ever felt,” an emotional Allan shared after the game, while the team and fans nearby sang the EHS Alma Mater in celebration. “It’s not just a team here, this is my family and knowing that we did this together, is the best feeling. I’m so proud to be a Cougar … Cougar for Life.”

Along the way, there were some stellar defensive plays, including a double play on a pop up on a bunt to third baseman Babasa that she caught and then threw to first to double off a runner who was already on her way to second. Outfielders for Escalon tracked down every ball hit their way – including a couple by the Lady Rams that nearly made it over the fence – and Escalon also was successful in getting a couple of bunts down for hits and put the ball in play, forcing Casa Roble to stay on their toes.

Escalon leadoff hitter Babasa battled in an eight-pitch at bat to start the game, ultimately driving a double down the left field line. Kyla Holback took a called third strike and Arianna Velasco hit a deep fly ball to center field for the second out; Babasa advanced to third but was called out for leaving second base too early on the put out in center field.

Casa Roble scored a run in the first inning, but it was unearned. Adams got the first batter on a strikeout but then issued a walk, followed by two hit batters. Underwood called a conference with the umpire after the second hit batter, feeling that she was too far over the plate when she got hit in the hand. But the umpire’s call was upheld and the Lady Rams, coming in as the home team since they were the higher seed, had the bases loaded with one out. With the next batter up, a pitch that sailed a little high glanced off catcher Addy Lopez’s glove and though she jumped on it quickly and Adams covered the plate, the runner from third was able to score for Casa Roble.

A meeting at the mound for Escalon was called by third baseman Babasa to settle things down and Adams then struck out the next two batters, ending the threat and stranding Casa Roble runners at second and third.

“My team’s pep talk helped me a lot, just calmed me down, I just tuned out the other dugout and what the other team was saying and just calmed down,” Adams explained of getting rid of the early butterflies. “It feels great, honestly, just to know my teammates have my back and when I’m having a tough game, they just help me relax and just do better.”

Escalon would get a runner to second on a leadoff double from Adams in the second, with Avery Bartelink going in to pinch run, but she would be stranded there. Adams then struck out the Casa Roble hitters in order in the bottom of the second, settling into her groove.

The Lady Cougars would continue to get some hits and runners on base but were unable to break through until the top of the fifth inning.

After a strikeout, Lauryn Siegel reached on a single to left field and remained there on a pop out on the infield for the second out of the inning. Babasa then stepped in and notched a double, Siegel scoring from first base, running on contact with two outs. She slid across the plate with the tying run, injecting plenty of life into the Lady Cougar dugout.

Casa Roble threatened in the bottom of the fifth but stranded a runner on third, and Escalon still had the momentum.

Adams had a one out double to left field in the top of the sixth and then Allan put her team in the lead with an RBI double to left field, scoring Adams to put the Lady Cougars up 2-1.

Casa Roble went down in order in the bottom of the sixth and Escalon put some insurance runs on the board in the top of the seventh, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Siegel led off the inning and hit a deep grounder to second; hustling down the line, she hit the bag just as the first baseman was trying to corral a high throw. The ball dropped out of her glove and Siegel was safe at first. Emma Isernhagen then notched a single to put runners on first and second. Babasa drove in both her teammates with a two-run triple, putting Escalon in the lead, 4-1. Kyla Holback then had a sacrifice fly to left field, driving in Babasa with run number five on the day.

That ended up giving Escalon all the runs they would need, as Adams and her teammates took care of business in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Rams going down in order as the celebration began for the Lady Cougars and their fans.

“I feel like this has always been a goal for me, coming into high school and it’s just a really unreal feeling,” junior Jayci Trimble said of wining the Section title. “The whole game felt unreal and I’m just so proud of our team right now.”

Four-year varsity starter Babasa said staying focused and supporting each other during the title game was key.

“Being a veteran on our team, I knew that the younger girls would look up to me and they needed that little push in the end … I knew my team needed me so I just needed to power through, find a way to get on and get those runs across,” Babasa said.

For the game, Babasa had a single, two doubles, a triple and three RBI in four trips to the plate.

She said looking back over the season – and the tough start for the squad when several team members, including herself, were still in the basketball postseason – made it even more surreal that they were in the title game.

“It feels amazing but unreal, I still can’t believe that we’re here,” Babasa admitted. “I woke up this morning and I was like, ‘oh wow, there’s no way we’re playing for a Section championship today’ … people definitely looked down on us with our 1-8 preseason record … so I think we were definitely an underdog in this and being able to basically upset Calaveras, Sutter and Casa Roble, it’s amazing.”

Along with Babasa’s four hits and three runs driven in, Adams had two doubles, Emma Isernhagen had two singles, Lauryn Siegel had a single, Arianna Velasco had two singles, Lizzy Allan had an RBI double and Kyla Holback had a sacrifice fly. Escalon had five runs on 12 hits with no errors; Casa Roble had one run on no hits with one error. Escalon reached the 15-win mark with the Section title victory.

Junior Arianna Velasco is in her third season at the varsity level and said coming in to the playoffs as the seven seed provided a little extra drive for the team.

“It definitely motivated us and like Madi said, we didn’t have our full team during the preseason … so we knew when we all came back we would mesh, we were going to do a lot better playing together, our full team,” Velasco said.

She also said the playoffs – right up until the Section title game – showcased the team’s resilience.

“I definitely think Madi’s triple sparked that momentum shift because this game is all about momentum,” Velasco explained of the seventh inning rally against Casa Roble. “That’s what has been keeping us going through these playoffs; staying loud, staying excited. Even just to get here, I’ve been wanting to get here since my freshman year so it’s amazing, honestly.”

Allan, Babasa and Peyton Merrill were the three seniors on the roster and for Merrill, it was a special moment to be part of the Section championship win.

“It feels really amazing to see how far we have come and this is only the second time we’ve been to playoffs but the first time this far in my four years and it’s just an amazing feeling,” Merrill shared. “We definitely had a very rough start at the beginning but I feel like as the season went on, we just kept winning and it was really fun this season … we enjoyed playing and we all got along and I feel like that helped us push through and be there for each other and want to win for each other.”

For Underwood, coaching the team to the Section title couldn’t have been more satisfying, though she gave all the credit to the girls.

“As a team, they had the chemistry, they got it towards the end of the season; once we had our full team it really helped and it showed that you have to be a team to win a game, you can’t play individually with this sport, you have to be able to have everybody put everything in, whether you’re on the field or in the dugout, you matter no matter what and that helped us so much,” Underwood said following the game, just before the bucket of ice cold water was dumped on her by the team.

She said making adjustments in the late innings, keeping the ball on the ground and forcing Casa Roble to make the defensive plays, helped spark the rally that led to the three-run seventh and put the game away.

“They’re all so excited, we’re ready for NorCals now,” Underwood said.

Escalon will learn when, where and who they play in the opening round of NorCals when the brackets are released on May 31.

Escalon’s Section championship roster included Madison Babasa, Jessy-Lynn Kesler, Peyton Merrill, Kyla Holback, Addy Lopez, Jayci Trimble, Mia Bracamontes, Lizzy Allan, Avery Bartelink, Emma Isernhagen, Lauryn Siegel, Tenley Adams and Arianna Velasco.