Alonso's first district title in school history was no easy feat to accomplish. The Ravens battled Bloomingdale for 13 innings and nearly four and a half hours through two rain delays for a 7-6 victory to take home the 8A District 7 title.
Through the first seven innings, it was a pitchers duel between Alonso's Kayla Maxwell and Bloomingdale's Lace Smith. Each pitcher allowed only five hits and one earned run through the first seven. Maxwell finished with 12 strikeouts, while Smith whiffed 21 Ravens hitters.
As the rain poured down in the ninth inning, the ball started to get slippery and the batters started having more success. A one-out single from Victoria Perri (1-5, 3 runs) started a rally in the top of the ninth. Eventually, the bases were loaded for Elly Pillers, and she blasted a bases-clearing double into the left field corner. Alonso added an insurance run after a Bloomingdale error to grab a four-run lead.
But after a rain delay, the Bulls were able to take advantage of the wet conditions as well. A wild pitch and two Alonso errors led to four Bulls run, as Darby Bernaldo scored on a throwing error on Samantha Selden's fielder's choice to extend the game.
The teams battled through three more scoreless innings, before Alonso loaded the bases again in the 13th inning. Pillers lofted a sacrifice fly to left field, just deep enough for Perri to race home. The throw from Taylor Engman beat Perri to the plate, but her slide dislodged the ball from Selden's glove for what would prove to be the game-winning run. Maxwell went on to strike out Smith and induce a game-ending double play ball from Jenna Beswick.
The FBC Mortgage Player of the Game was Alonso's Jessica Warren, who finished the night 3-for-5 with a double, two singles, two walks, a stolen base, an RBI and a run - plus several impressive defensive plays.