Softball: Contreras blasts three homers in Jags’ win against the Wolf Pack

There was smoke coming out of the Kimball High softball team’s bats on Tuesday afternoon — particularly that of senior ace Alexa Contreras. The Jaguars defeated crosstown foes West 16-3 at home to pick up their fourth straight win in the Tri-City Athletic League (TCAL), as Contreras shone brightest on a perfect 3-3 outing with a whopping three home runs to lead the way. Kimball improved to 13-4 (8-1 TCAL) to stay level with Tracy (16-2, 8-1 TCAL) atop the league standings with the decisive game of the split series between the two teams coming up next Tuesday. The Jags’ offense has been on fire since losing to the Bulldogs a little over a week ago. The victory over the Wolf Pack was their third straight game with 10+ runs scored. The hosts rattled off 13 hits and drew seven walks out of West’s senior pitcher Jessie Davis. Deputizing for injured junior starter Kayla McWhorter, Davis struck out just one Kimball batter while giving up 15 earned runs. Contreras got the nod in the circle for the Jaguars and went three innings, allowing two hits, two runs, and two walks while punching out two. Junior Giselle Mallamo recorded the save with three hits and one earned run allowed over the last two innings as the hosts wrapped the game up in five. Mallamo struck out a pair. The Jags came flying out of the gates and built a commanding 7-0 advantage in the first inning. The early offensive eruption was punctuated by a three-run homer from Contreras to make it 4-0 at the time. Contreras’ second was a solo blast in the bottom of the second frame to put Kimball up 8-2. She completed her hat-trick with another three-run bomb over the left field fence in the bottom of the third inning which put her team in mercy rule territory at 13-2. Contreras ended her spectacular senior night outing with seven RBIs and four runs scored after drawing a walk on her fourth at-bat. “I don’t even know how I did that,” she said with a beaming smile afterwards. “I wasn’t trying to hit home runs. I just saw good pitches right down the middle and went with it. It was a really good feeling, though, with my family watching. I knew I had to lock in and stuff, but I don’t think I’ve ever (batted) this well in my life.” Jags’ head coach Justin Bigler heaped praise on one of his team’s leaders. He was also pleased with another outstanding collective performance from his group. Their recent run bodes well for them heading into the toughest stretch of the campaign to close out the regular season. “(Contreras’) offense has come along this year,” he said. “Her averages are not as high as you might think, but she’s had great contact all year and a lot of extra base hits. I mean, three home runs today, and we’re not a home run hitting team, she did a phenomenal job. I think she hit more homers today than we have as a team the last three years combined. The Wolf Pack got into the game in the top of the second inning as the visitors pounced on a couple of Kimball errors to get on the board with two runs. Senior Bailey Dunn (2-3) led West with two hits, one RBI, and one run. The contest did not stay within reach for too long, however. An RBI single from Dunn in the top of the fourth frame briefly made it a 10-run game again at 13-3 — but the hosts responded with three more runs in the bottom of the frame to set the final score. Sophomore Briez Dodds (2-3) kicked things off with a sac fly RBI that scored senior Kaeliana DePerio (2-3) after her leadoff triple. Mallamo (1-3) put a bow on the victory with a two-RBI triple to make it 16-3. DePerio had two RBIs and two runs in the game. Mallamo added a run scored. Dodds had three RBIs and one run. Sophomore Saige Dodds (3-4) had a double, a triple, one RBI, and three runs. Senior Malia Morreira went 1-3 for the Wolf Pack who dropped to 3-10 overall in the defeat. They are still winless in TCAL at 0-9. Junior Mya Camp went 1-1 with a run. Freshman Aubrie Martin (1-2) also scored a run. The Jags had to turn around quickly after their win. They hosted defending TCAL champions Lodi (13-5, 6-2 TCAL) on Wednesday in the first of the three-game series between the two teams. Kimball suffered a tough 11-1 defeat in five innings to fall to 8-2 and second place in the league. The hosts trailed 5-1 after four innings before giving up six unanswered in the fifth to close the game early. The Jags were held to just two hits. Freshman Karaliya DePerio went 1-2 with an RBI. Saige Dodds also went 1-2. Freshman Briana Quintero started in the circle and went three innings, allowing seven hits, five runs (two earned), and one walk while striking out four. Quintero was relieved by Contreras for the last two innings. The Kimball ace allowed eight hits and six earned runs. The title hopeful Jags will have to see the Flames two more times and Tracy once more in their remaining five league games of the regular season. They will host the Bulldogs on Tuesday. Three of their last four games after that will be on the road.