Archbishop Mitty sophomore pitcher Savanna Smith was just one out away from a perfect game. With two outs and nobody on in the top of the seventh, Santa Clara first baseman Alyson Teixeira worked a walk to break up the perfecto. However, Teixeira would be the only Bruin to reach base as Smith completed the no-hitter, a 4-0 complete-game victory in the second game of the Mission City tournament. While it wasn’t the result the Bruins (ranked 305th in California) were looking for, they were taking on a Mitty team ranked 45th in the state.
“Very good experience for us [playing Mitty],” commented Bruins Head Coach John Rahbar. “We were looking forward to this possible matchup, getting in the winners bracket and having these guys as an opponent. We kept it close, we gave them a few runs, but we kept it tight the whole game. That’s why [Kathryn Caravalho] pitched the whole game because we were in the whole game. We love the experience and we’re going to learn from it.”
Caravalho is the Bruins innings eater, pitching far more than any other player on the roster. Wise and mature beyond her years, the junior seems to have no problem at all being the center of the attention almost every game. Even when runs are scored against her, she seems to keep a smile on her face at all times.
“I can’t get mad at the girls if they like mess up or anything because I hit a lot of batters today. If they got mad at me every time I hit a batter that just wouldn’t be right so I don’t get mad at them when they mess up,” remarked Caravalho on her relaxed demeanor. “It’s a team sport, there are going to be tough days, I just try to stay cool, there’s usually still a lot of game left to play.”
The defense behind Caravalho did all they could against Mitty to help keep things close. In the third inning, second baseman Vanessa Bontrager fielded a grounder and made a tough throw home to nail the runner from third. There was no force on the play and the throw was perfectly put where catcher Natasha Sachdeva was able to use the momentum of the throw to simply drop her glove down for the tag.
“That’s what we practice all year long, [throws to] third base side [of home],” noted Rahbar on the defensive gem of the day. “Every throw home is on the third base side, we practice that.”
Santa Clara would go on to play two more games in the Mission City tournament where all 16 teams were guaranteed four games of play. The Bruins now have 10 games remaining on their schedule before playoffs begin in May.