They got hot at just the right time.
The fifth-seeded Oceanside Pirates won for the 13 time in 14 games, edging No. 3 Sage Creek, 4-3, in Thursday's CIF San Diego Section Division 3 final at UCSD Thursday.
“We accomplished a hell of a lot,” said Oceanside coach Michael Romero, whose Pirates won for the third straight day under the pressure of elimination to win the crown. “We always had this vision, and even though we were all banged up, we fought as a team and picked each other up.”
Trailing 3-2 going into the top of the fifth inning, the Pirates scored a pair of runs to take the lead and held on for the victory.
Seaven Fuimaono was the key.
The freshman laced a one-out triple down the right-field line to drive in Nalia Nuanez, who walked, to tie the game at 3-3. Mikayla Poumele-Flores' sacrifice fly to right drove in Fuimaono with what proved to be the winning run.
Fuimaono finished the day 1-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and the winning run.
“She’s a freshman with a whole lot of potential,” said Romero of Fuimaono. “She has a long lineage at Oceanside. I coached her sister. It was a clutch performance by her tonight and over the last seven or eight games as well.”
Sage Creek (21-10) took a 3-2 lead in the third after Kassidy King doubled off the fence in center and went to third on freshman Kaimana Coleman’s single. King scored on sophomore Makema Coleman’s fielder’s choice. The younger Coleman sister scored on Lexi Thurman’s RBI single.
That set up the fifth-inning dramatics.
The savior on the mound for the Pirates was sophomore Nayeli Adame. Eight games earlier, she was pressed into service on the mound after ace Izabella Gobea went down with a torn ligament.
Although Adame gave up nine hits and five walks, she never allowed the big inning.
“It wasn’t all on me,” said Adame of the victory. “I had so much support from my team and the whole community. I took some deep breaths and trusted my ‘D’”.
“She dug deep for us the last eight games,” explained Romero. “She hadn’t pitched much the last three years but she was there when we needed her.”
Oceanside (22-6-1) grabbed the early lead when Lia Nance (2-4, 2 runs) led off the game with a single, stole second and scored on a fielder’s choice RBI by Fuimaono.
The Pirates upped the lead to 2-0 after two innings. Adami Nayeli reached on a fielder’s choice and came in on Nance’s two-out triple to right center.
The Bobcats narrowed the margin to 2-1 in the second as Devon Jones was forced in on a bases loaded walk to Torii Ramirez.
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .
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