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Sports

Grossmont Upsets No. 1 Seed Poway to Claim CIF Softball Championship

Rachel Stalford, Hayley Kasden lead Foothillers to 4-3 victory over the Titans under the lights at UC San Diego.

What a difference a few days can make.

Sophomore infielder Hayley Kasden hit a three-run homer and senior right-hander Rachel Stalford drove in the go-ahead run and pitched a complete game as Grossmont High won the CIF San Diego Section Division I softball title Saturday night at UCSD with a 4-3 victory over top-seeded Poway. 

The sixth-seeded Hillers had been shut out 2-0 by Poway only two days earlier in the double-elimination tournament that began 10 days ago. The Titans also had beaten Grossmont 2-0 on March 23.

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“It’s hard to beat somebody three times in a row,” said Grossmont coach Jerry Lerud. “We came out loose and played with a lot of heart.”

That’s also how he coached since he’s been in and out of the emergency room the past week with kidney stone problems. “It’s just uncomfortable,” said Lerud. “It wouldn’t have stopped me from being here.”

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A leadoff double in the second by Poway catcher Angie Randazzo set up a sacrifice fly by Nicole Johnson to give the Titans a 1-0 lead, but it didn’t last long.

Amanda Porter and Aubrie May singled to open the Poway third, and the lefty-hitting Kasden pulled a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right to put the Titans up 3-1.

“I was aiming for a base hit,” said Kasden. “I just happened to get all of it and it went over the fence. I knew it would get out when I hit it.”

Poway would pull even at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth on solo home runs by Ashley Andruski (a one-out shot just inside the left field foul pole) and Johnson (a two-out drive to deep left).

“There was a lot more energy in the dugout after that,” said Andruski.

“It gave us some renewed hope,” added Johnson, whose tying homer was her first of the season. “We knew we had beaten them twice before, so we tried to go in assuming we would win. We needed to keep our focus because it’s not an automatic win.”

Poway starter Alayna Brenman gave way to Brianna Burns in the fifth, and with one out, May walked and moved to second on a single to left by Kasden. Stalford then dropped a single between the shortstop and left fielder to score May with the decisive run.

“I was extremely late on it and I kind of muscled it out there,” said Stalford, who concentrated on coming inside more to Poway batters after the tying home runs. It paid off as she retired nine straight before yielding a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh. A caught stealing on a close play at second ended the game and season, which Lerud dedicated to his .

“He’s such an inspiration to the girls,” said Lerud. “He probably won’t be on the field (at his first-base coaching position) next season, but he’ll be around.”

It was Grossmont’s first CIF softball title since 1989, when the Hillers beat University of San Diego High 2-1 in the old 2A division. The Foothillers were runners-up in 1991, 1993 and 1995.  Poway won the CIF Division I softball title in 2002 when the Titans beat La Costa Canyon 5-0.

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