Story by Ray Conner
Kern Valley’s varsity softball squad ended their season when they faced a tough pitcher from Orange Cove.
The Lady Broncs playing in the CIF Division 4 bracket was eliminated by the Lady Titans. Things started well for Kern Valley as they were able to jump out to an early lead. They went up 2-0 after their initial at bats. Ava Bates leading off the game reached on an error by the catcher on a dropped third strike. Brooklynn Robertson sacrificed her to second and Kayley Sietsma followed with another sacrifice to put her at third. Ava Elliott was issued the free pass and both runners would come home in the inning.
Orange Cove answered and tied the game at 2-2 in their half of the first. A pair of walks and a laced double drove home both runs for the Lady Titans. The Orange Cove team added three runs in the second to go up 5-2. The big hit of the inning was a two-run blast for the Lady Titans. Two more runs crossed the plate in the fourth to push the lead to 7-2 and they would finish the scoring with three in the fifth. Another two-run bomb in the inning pushed the margin wider.
This would be all for Kern Valley as they were limited to three hits the rest of the way. Those three batters would be the only base runners over the last six innings of the game. The Lady Broncs were held in check as they were set down on strikes 14 times over those same six innings. A failure to put the ball in play resulted in the 10-2 loss that ended their season. The Lady Broncs finished the year at 18-8
Audrey Martinez led the Lady Broncs with a pair of hits. Kayley Sietsma collected the only other hit for Kern Valley in the game.
In the circle, Martinez tossed six innings. She walked seven and allowed 10 hits and the 10 runs.
