Before the home stretch of the gauntlet that is the Monticello Empire League, the Pioneer High varsity softball team enjoyed a non-league match against old Golden Empire League foes Dixon, resulting in an exciting 11-2 win Friday evening.

In the previous two seasons, both the Rams and the Patriots (15-4, 8-1 MEL) have tied for first place atop the GEL standings with identical 11-1 records, with the only losses coming against each other.

In the two seasons before that, Dixon came out on top of the league with a 10-0 record, while the Patriots finished 7-3. While high school teams rotate players on a yearly basis, the consistency from both programs has remained the same.

“I feel like a lot of the stress was off in this game because we aren’t competing for a league title against them,” said Pioneer High School senior Sofia Hernandez, who hit 2 home runs for the second consecutive game. “I think we had fun today. It was an awesome win. We are always talking back and forth with each other, so it’s really cool to beat them.”

“This game was fun,” Patriots head coach Linda Merrida said. “We have had many battles over the years, so it was nice to get them on the schedule. All the kids and parents know each other, so you have a lot of familiarity with the teams.”

Following Pioneer’s 7-1 win over same-side-of-town rivals Woodland Christian this past Tuesday, the Patriots hosted the MEL’s fifth-placed team, Rodriguez, and defeated them 9-2.

With the win, they remained in first place in the MEL, one game ahead of both Vacaville and Vanden.

In that game, Junior Marisa Bryson hit her 7th home run of the season, placing her in a tie for 4th place in all of the Sac-Joaquin Section. She would end the night with 2 hits, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI.

Fellow masher Sofia Hernandez smacked 2 aforementioned solo home runs, ending her night with 3 hits, 3 runs, and 2 RBI. Junior Amy Bivet had 2 runs and a hit.

From the circle, senior Jia Beebe collected another win, pitching 7 innings, allowing 2 runs, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts.

The first three innings Friday mirrored the past two years, with the teams remaining deadlocked at 0-0.

The floodgates opened up in the top of the fourth inning, however, as Dixon managed to take a 2-0 lead. The Patriots then responded emphatically, scoring 6 runs to take a 6-2 lead.

Abril Parker would come up with the bases loaded and reach base courtesy of an error from the Rams center fielder that allowed Amy Bivert and Bryson to score and tie it up at 2-2.

After a flyout and a ground out, the Rams were hopeful to have held the damage to just two runs, but Pioneer felt like mounting a 2-out rally. A Zayda Rodriguez single to left field scored both Sofia Hernandez and Parker to make it 4-2 before a Kylie Cueva double scored Rodriguez to make it 5-2.

The Patriots’ 6th run came via a Grace McGinty single that managed to score Cueva thanks to a bad throw from the outfield.

After a quiet top of the fifth inning, Bryson would lead the bottom half of the inning with a leadoff double, setting the table for the first of Hernandez’s towering home runs, making it 8-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Hernandez came up again with runners on first and second and slugged a three-run dinger to dead center field, scoring Sofia Castro and Bryson to make it 11-2.

“I think I’m getting my momentum back right now because I was out with an arm injury for half the season,” Hernandez said. “I’m finally back hitting like I was last season. I think my confidence has gone up a lot because I’m able to help my team both ways.”

Beebe would come out and wrap up her complete game, finishing the night with a massive 9 strikeouts, while only allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits and 3 walks. Her 15th win of the year ranks her in a tie for first place in all of California schools.

“I want us to keep making great decisions at the plate and not press,” Merrida said. “We need to take whatever we can get and then play some solid defense. The more games we are challenged, I think, will help us in the playoffs. Mistakes in these games don’t hurt you as much, but in the playoffs, they can be really big.”

Up next for the Patriots will be another non-league tune-up on the road against Lincoln High School, set for Monday, April 21. They will then resume MEL play with a massive trip to Vacaville on Wednesday, April 23, to take on the second-placed Bulldogs.

“I just hope to see a lot of fight for the rest of the season,” Hernandez said. “It’s been a rough season as we have had a lot of injuries, but I just hope we make it as far as we can in the playoffs. If it’s not as far as we hoped, I just really had fun with them this season.”