With a potential three-way share of the Monticello Empire League championship at stake, the Pioneer High School varsity softball team took care of business early and simultaneously celebrated its Senior Night in style with a 10-0 win over River City Wednesday evening.

The Patriots (19-5, 10-2 MEL) came into the penultimate regular season game and final league game of the season in a wicked three-way tie for third place atop the MEL standings with Vacaville and Vanden. After Vacaville and Vanden both won Wednesday night, all three teams will share the championship banner, with only the run differentials in the games they played against one another serving as a tiebreaker for playoff seeding.

Before any pitch was thrown, the team held a ceremony to celebrate its four departing seniors, who include Abril Parker, Jia Beebe, Ashley Gruben, and Sofia Hernandez.

While they will undoubtedly leave a significant leadership and production hole in the lineup, the core four seniors have served as the backbone of head coach Linda Merrida’s team, with Gruben at catcher, Beebe as the team’s leading pitcher, Hernandez manning the hot corner at third base and Parker patrolling center field.“Today was bittersweet, as it was Senior Day,” Beebe said. “We have built a team that trusts one another on the field and off, so it’s just fun to be out there with them. These past four years have been full of ups and downs. We have had successes and failures, but each year I feel that we are getting stronger and stronger. I grew up with all these girls, so it’s nice to be out there with them and see where we all are going in life.

“Ashley has been my catcher for the past four years, and we built a strong battery in the circle,” Beebe continued. “Sofia has always been our third base man, and she is back now, so it’s really nice to have her out there. Abril has always been our centerfielder, and you can always trust her to catch a ball out there at any time. They are a defense I can trust, and we have really built a connection with each other.”

Merrida shared the same sentiments.

“The seniors have been the anchor for our team the past four years,” Merrida recalled. “Next year is going to be so tough. Sofia brought a great bat to our team. After we lost our catcher, Ashley took over the job in her freshman year and only improved. Jia has just gotten stronger since her freshman year, and Abril can play the entire outfield by herself.”

Beebe perhaps had the best night of all the seniors, tossing a five-inning perfect game in which she struck out 5 and recorded another win. At the plate, she added 3 hits and 2 RBI. Hernandez racked up 2 hits and 1 run while Parker added 1 hit and 2 RBI.

Junior Grace McGinty had a perfect day at the plate, going 4-for-4, with 4 runs scored.

The Patritos raced out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, courtesy of doubles from the senior duo of Beebe and Parker that scored McGinty and junior Marisa Bryson, respectively.

Pioneer would then go on to add six more runs in the bottom of the second. They first scored two runs on a defensive interference call that allowed pinch runner Zayda Rodriguez to score before a McGinty single scored Kylie Cueva to make it 4-0. Another double from Beebe scored McGinty and made it 5-0.

A few batters later, Hernandez would single to left and score Lizzy Vargas before a sacrifice fly from Parker scored Bryson and made it 7-0.

The final run of the inning came courtesy of a Sofia Castro single that scored Hernandez to make it 8-0.

In the bottom of the third, the Patriots added a single run thanks to a McGinty triple that she turned into a score thanks to a bad throw.

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Patriots were one run away from a 10-run mercy rule win and got to work quickly. McGinty would reach first base for the fourth time and eventually small-ball her way to third base. Bryson then stepped up and smacked a sacrifice fly just far enough to center field to easily score McGinty and give the Patriots a stress-free 10-0 win.

Up next for Pioneer will be a week off, followed by one final regular-season tune-up game against Vista Del Lago next Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. After that, the playoff seeding and matchups will be announced.

“I’m hoping that we get far in the playoffs,” Beebe said. “We need to take it one game at a time and play with our full effort, but have fun at the same time.”