Kerman edges Kingsburg for D-IV softball title

Published online on Thursday, May. 28, 2009

KINGSBURG - They piled on one another, cried buckets of tears, suddenly organized for a championship team photo and then chased down their coach, tackling him down the right-field line Thursday night at Rafer Johnson Junior High.

This was not your ordinary Central Section softball title for Kerman High.

"We went through a lot of challenges," an understated Chelsea Weber said after the Lions held on by inches and defeated two-year reigning champion Kingsburg 9-8 for the Division IV gold.

The greatest of those challenges:

Bill Furnish resigned as coach in midseason for personal reasons.

The North Sequoia League champions received an unfriendly fourth seed for the playoffs. NSL runner-up Washington was seeded second.

And, finally to a sweltering Thursday in Kingsburg, where Kerman -- leading 9-2 -- saw the Vikings hammer away in the bottom of the seventh, hack the deficit to 9-8 and place runners on first and third with one out.

Then Kingsburg's Jaimie Lopez smoked a grounder at the feet of Lions first baseman Jennifer Gonzales, who had shifted from right field two batters earlier, when Weber replaced starting pitcher Jordan Yates.

"I was like, 'Oh no, oh no, not another hit,' " Weber said.

Gonzales was thinking, "Oh my gosh, I have to stop it."

The junior, playing in, did indeed, knocking it down before clutching the ball and running a few steps toward the first-base line and tagging Lopez to end it.

That closed a 29-9 season without rivals at Kerman.

Sure, the Lions also won the D-IV title in 2004. And, yes, they also placed second in D-III in 2003 and '08.

But none rivaled this.

"We had some struggles all year," said Tony Stefano, a Furnish assistant who took over after the change. "But the girls are tough; they always seemed to find a way to get it done."

The division door was flung open for Kerman and third-seeded Kingsburg (26-9) after No. 1 Wasco was shocked 2-1 by Chowchilla and No. 2 Washington fell 16-10 to No. 7 McLane in the quarterfinals.

Kerman then took care of Chowchilla 2-0, Kingsburg defeated McLane 7-2, and away they went to the school named after this community's former Olympic decathlon gold medalist.

And, my, how the Lions appeared golden while bolting to the 9-2 lead behind leadoff hitter Valerie Gomez, who went 3 for 5, scored twice and drove in two; Erica Chan, who doubled, singled twice and stole two bases; Matraca Nord, who hit a two-run single; and Weber, who drove in three runs with a grounder and home run caught behind the left-field fence by Nord's uncle, Roger Nord.

And sophomore Yates (15-5), meanwhile, doubled, singled, scored twice and coasted with a three-hitter through six innings before the Vikings rallied behind consecutive singles from Kristen Torres, Michelle Brassfield, Brittney Snow and Ambur Orozco.

As Kingsburg crept closer, Gonzales said, "I was ready to cry."

Then it ended, and she did anyway.