Analy finishes up solid season with 18-9 record
The Analy Tigers reached the end of a memorable softball campaign on Friday in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Section Division 3 playoffs, coming out on the short end of a 9-8 heartbreaker to league nemesis Sonoma Valley.
Analy ended the season with an overall record of 18-9.
The second round NCS battle pitted the #5 Tigers at the #4 Dragons and was the fifth meeting between schools this season. Both teams owned a pair of wins over the other, but the rubber match was easily the most dramatic.
With Analy clinging to a 8-6 lead in the sixth, Sonoma Valley’s Abby Alcayaga hit a controversial strike into left field, with two runners on base, to lift the Dragons to an eventual 9-8 victory.
On the play, Tigers’ left-fielder Gianna Bianchi appeared to make a leaping catch, but the ball popped out of her glove as she toppled over the short fence. The umpires ruled it was a home run.
Analy coach Nick Houtz argued that the ball came out as Bianchi hit the ground, signifying a ground-rule double, but the call would stand, ending the Tiger’s season.
Analy opened the NCS Division 3 tournament on May 23 in dominant fashion against #12 visiting Miramonte, pounding the ball with ferocity in a five-inning, 20-0 romp. Junior pitcher Carson Rasmussen fired five innings of one-hit ball while fanning 10 in a great outing. Â
