St. Paul Softball defeats St. Anthony, 8-5, in Del Rey action
St. Paul’s Madison Gasca-Reyes (25) is congratulated after scoring as they play St. Anthony in their league game at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs on Tuesday. St. Paul defeated St. Anthony 8-5. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
PICO RIVERA – The St. Paul High School Softball team, with the Del Rey League title in sight, defeated visiting St. Anthony (Long Beach), 8-5, Tuesday (April 3).
The Lady Swordsmen, who finished second in league to St. Anthony last season, took a big early lead with a seven-run third inning and held on as the Stars scored five runs in three of the last four innings.
St. Paul (18-6, 9-1) can clinch its third title since 2018 with a win against Mary Star of the Sea at home on Monday (April 17). The Swordsmen were co-champs in the 2021 season with Bishop Amat.
With Bishop Amat (7-10-1, 5-2) in second, St. Anthony (6-11, 2-3) and Mary Star (10-5, 1-3) are fighting for the final playoff spot in league.
With the seven runs in the bottom of the third inning for St. Paul, the Stars came back with one run in the top of the fourth, to trail, 7-1.
The Lady Swordsmen answered with their final run in the bottom half of the inning followed by a pair of runs by St. Anthony in the fifth and sixth innings.
“The team played well (Tuesday), and it took our offense a couple of innings to make an adjustment at the plate,” St. Paul Softball coach Charles Gandara said. “Their pitcher did a very good job mixing up her pitches and keeping us off balance.
“We were able to string together a couple of hits in the third inning and capitalized on a couple of their defensive mistakes.”
The Swordsmen, along with St. Anthony, had 10 hits each in the game.
Three seniors and a junior led the charge for St. Paul with two hits apiece.
Senior second baseman Madison Gasca-Reyes was 2 for 4 with a run scored, while seniors Julissa Detrinidad (2 for 3, RBI) and outfielder Gaby Gandara (2 for 2, R, BB) also had two hits each.
“Our team is doing very well,” Gasca-Reyes said. “We’re progressing and moving along, and I think we’re going to be very strong at the end. Our pitcher Elisa (Gulfin) did very well. There were a couple times where we struggled in the field, but we were able to comeback with some hits and had a very big inning.”
Gandara (.463), who also had two doubles in the game, and Detrinidad (.443) are batting well over .400 this season. Gandara has 30 hits and 13 stolen bases, while Detrinidad has thrown out 10 base runners from the catcher’s position.
Junior pitcher Abbey Duarte (2 for 3) scored a run and had two RBIs and junior third baseman Hannah Moreno added a pair of RBIs. Moreno currently has a .475 average, along with 29 RBIs and four home runs.
As a team, the Swordsmen are batting .417.
Leading the way in the circle was senior Elisa Gulfin (4 BBs, HR allowed) with four innings, allowing only three hits, one earned run and five strikeouts. Gulfin, who has a 2.95 ERA overall and 96 strikeouts this season, improved to 14-5 overall and 7-1 in league.
Moreno pitched the final three innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and struck out two.
“Elisa (Gulfin) was strong in the circle and pitched well for four solid innings,” Gandara said. “She experienced some tightness in her pitching arm and was replaced in the fifth (Moreno). A couple of misplayed balls and questionable calls in the fifth and sixth innings led to four runs (3 earned), but the team never panicked and finished the game strong.”
Other top hitters for St. Paul are senior outfielder Kate Williams (.444, 24 runs scored), sophomore first baseman Daina Munoz (.392, 24 RBIs, 4 HRs) and freshman shortstop Audrey Prado (.477).
Four players will be playing at the next level, which includes: Gulfin (University of Nebraska), Gandara (Cal State Dominguez Hills), Detrinidad (Saint Martin’s University) and senior Savannah Patino (Cal State East Bay.
With 100 hits in their careers are Moreno (100 RBIs) and Gandara (50 SBs).After facing Mary Star (4/17), St. Paul finishes the season with St. Anthony (4/18) and a non-league game at Sierra Vista. The CIF playoffs begin after that.
