July 17, 2024
MIRA LOMA, CA – As much as it stings to lose a game, there’s something extra satisfying about not letting it be the last word on your competitive journey.
For the Warrior Academy-McDonald 14u team, Wednesday’s shift at the TC Nationals began with an 8-1 loss to the Corona Angels-Tyson, sending the Academy into the loser’s half of the A Pool. That meant extra work was required to seize a spot in the championship bracket, and the Academy made it happen with a 16-9 run-rule victory over the Washington Ladyhawks-Miller at Big League Dreams-Riverside.
Star Guiterrez had four runs, three extra-base hitsand five RBI for the Academy; Rylie Hicks also scored four runs, and MailiaDavis did a nice job in relief with 3 1/3 solid innings as the Academy built animposing lead after the teams were tied 4-all after one inning.
“We knew the first team we played today was good, had played them before, and I think we came out flat in the early morning and just weren’t our true selves. We talked about energy, and they did a good job of rallying together,” said Academy coach Mickey McDonald. “We’ve challenged Malia a lot; she’s had issues in the past throwing strikes, and we want her to come in and be ready to go right away. Just attack, if you get hit, that’s fine.
“And we had a very mature, professional approach in the middle of the lineup (with Hicks and Gutierrez). We’ve challenged them, had them play up at 16s and even 18s, and now coming back to 14s the game has slowed down a bit. You can reap the rewards of that a little bit.”
The victory means the Academy will face BSC Bengals-Briggs when the final eight start to square off Thursday morning at 8 a.m. The championship game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at BLD-Riverside, Durham Field.
Gutierrez tripled in the first, hit a three-run homer in the second and doubled in the fourth, the latter hit a key part of a seven-run push that gave the Academy plenty of breathing room.
“When I’m on a heater, it’s really hard to not get too excited. I don’t want to waste the energy, and not that long ago I wasn’t doing that good,” she said. “You have to keep pushing and have a good mentality. I need to stay calm in the box and put all my energy into what’s good for the team. After (the Angels loss), I tried to remember that this is a team sport, I’m me, and I want to help bring everyone else up.”
Analysia Rocha had two RBI for the Academy, as did Julianne Galarza. Gia Ryan looked very comfortable in the leadoff spot, scoring three times and notching two hits.
“I’m super proud; we’re obviously able to come out against these great teams and get the wins,” Hicks said. “We were way more hyped this game, earlier we just weren’t feeling that way. Malia has just gone so far this year, and I’m proud of her for getting it done.”
Emma Reed had two RBI for the Ladyhawks; Sydney Potuin had a double and an RBI.
