Warriors softball program growing

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Last year Fallbrook High School’s softball team won only two games. This year, the Warriors had a 5-3 record before a March 21 loss at Mount Carmel which left Fallbrook with a 5-4 season mark at that point.

“We’re not doing too bad,” said Fallbrook coach Lisa Stehle.

Fallbrook has eight returning varsity players from the 2021 squad whose final record was 2-17, including a first-round loss in the CIF Division IV playoffs and a Valley League record of 0-10. The 2021 team had only one senior; this year, the Warriors have four seniors.

The Fallbrook varsity roster also has three freshmen including pitcher Hana Winton. “She’s most definitely a true pitcher, and she’s the kind of pitcher you’re going to see moving on to D-I, D-II (National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I or Division II) next level past high school,” Stehle said.

Fallbrook’s 2021 pitchers played recreational softball. Winton plays travel ball with the Power Surge, which is based in San Diego, and despite her eligibility for 14-and-under teams she is on the 16-and-under team.

The Warriors are not without handicaps. “We couldn’t do any tournaments this year,” Stehle said. “Financially we couldn’t do it.”

Fallbrook still has 22 regular-season games on the schedule. “Instead of filling it with tournaments I tried to fill it with just more games,” Stehle said.

A 13-3 loss Feb. 16 at Mission Vista began the Warriors’ 2022 season. Winton struck out 12 batters in four innings while allowing only two hits and two walks, although errors led to eight Timberwolves runs in those innings including four unearned ones. Five Mission Vista runs in the bottom of the sixth triggered the 10-run mercy rule. At the plate, Winton had a double and drove in all three Fallbrook runs. Larissa Ramirez scored two of the runs and Lexi Perez scored once; Ramirez and Perez each had two hits.

Sage Creek defeated Fallbrook in the 2021 playoff game. The Bobcats traveled to Fallbrook this year, and the score of the Feb. 18 game was 1-1 after five innings before Sage Creek scored four times in the sixth. Winton allowed three hits, a walk, and an unearned run in five innings while striking out 12 Bobcats.

The CIF playoff divisions are based on a three-year weighted average, so even though Fallbrook reached the Division IV playoffs last year, the Warriors are in Division V for 2022.

Winton threw four hitless innings March 1 in the Warriors’ first win of the season at home against Mount Miguel. She struck out 10 and walked two. Reliever Claire Hawthorne allowed two hits but no runs in two innings and struck out two Matadors batters. Berlin Broussard had hits in all four of her at-bats while scoring a run and driving in a teammate. Ramirez had two hits, scored twice, and had a run batted in. Melany Beccera and Ava Allegro each drove in two runs.

Fallbrook’s March 3 home game against Mission Vista was a 5-4 Warriors victory. Fallbrook won the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Broussard had hits in all four of her plate appearances, including a double, and drove in three runs. Baylee Howley had a double and a single in four at-bats while scoring twice, driving in a runner, and stealing a base. Winton threw a complete game and struck out 11 batters.

The 10-run mercy rule limited Fallbrook’s March 8 game at Guajome Park Academy to the minimum five innings. The Warriors scored six times apiece in the first, second, and fourth innings, five runs in the third, and three times in the fifth during the 26-6 win. Becerra had hits in all five of her plate appearances, including a triple, while scoring five times and driving in three runs, and she also stole a base. Gia Vitale had two hits including a triple in four at-bats while scoring twice and driving in five runners. Ramirez had three hits and a walk in five plate appearances, scored five times, drove in a teammate, and stole two bases. Winton’s three hits included the team’s first home run of the season, and she scored four times. Brossard and Howley also tripled against the Frogs. Hawthorne was on the mound for all five innings and allowed eight hits without walking a batter; only two of the six runs against her were earned.

An 8-0 loss March 10 at Del Norte saw the Nighthawks limit Fallbrook to two hits, both by Howley. Del Norte scored four runs in the sixth inning after generating two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

The Warriors recovered with a 12-6 victory March 16 at Coastal Academy. The Warriors scored in each of the seven innings.

Guajome Park Academy traveled to Fallbrook’s field March 18. The mercy rule in the 30-1 game was triggered after 4 1/2 innings after the Warriors scored 13 runs in the first, eight in the second, and nine in the third. Winton allowed two hits and six walks while striking out 12, and the run was unearned. Howley had three hits, including a double and a triple, and two walks in her plate appearances while scoring all five times and driving in a run. Allegro drove in six runs with three hits, including a double, while scoring three times. At the plate, Winton had three hits and a walk in five plate appearances while scoring four times and sending four teammates to home plate. Broussard had a double, a single, and two walks in her five plate appearances while scoring three times and driving in four runs. Perez had two singles and a walk while scoring four times and batting in two runners. Ramirez had two doubles, a walk, and a hit by pitch in four plate appearances while scoring four times and driving in three teammates. Valerie Hernandez had four hits in five at bats while scoring twice and driving in three runs.

The score of Mount Carmel’s win was 7-0. Five of the Sundevils’ runs were scored in the bottom of the sixth.

That gave the Warriors their second shutout loss of the season. “At least for the first five innings we were within two runs both times,” Stehle said.

Stehle also noted the margins of the losses to Del Norte and Mount Carmel. “Although we were shut out it was still eight-nothing, seven-nothing,” she said.

Last year, 15 of the Warriors’ 16 regular-season losses were by at least 10 runs.

“We have a lot of skill set within the team, so I’ve been excited all season,” Stehle said.

“I’m very excited to see where we go with it,” Stehle said. “I’m looking forward to watching the team grow.”