BIGGS >> Water bottles and confetti cannons sprayed the field of the Biggs softball team, and “We are the Champions” was played over the speaker after Wolverines’ pitcher Gracie Sheppard struck out the final batter to claim the CIF NorCal Division V championship Friday.

Allie Little and Mailey Seipert — the first and second basemen for the Wolverines, the only seniors on their roster and childhood friends since the age of 3 — jumped into each others’ arms after Biggs defeated King City 4-2.

Seipert said she was on the verge of tears after making a throw to Little for the second out in the top of the seventh inning, knowing the hard work she and her team had put in since January was paying off.

“Once we hit that third out in my mind, I was just shocked,” Seipert said. “I wasn’t shocked in our ability, we have the ability and skill and it was all there and we all wanted it, but shocked that we came to this point. So happy beyond words. It’s a dream come true and it feels great to be in this position.”

Little spoke about the hug with her best friend.

“We’ve been best friends since before kindergarten and it’s one of those things where we’ve seen each other grow up and helped each other, and we’ve just grown together and I’m so proud of her,” Little said. “It’s so crazy to see how far we’ve come together.”

The road to the championship was not easy for the Wolverines, and something the two four-year varsity seniors have been working toward since their freshman season, when they were eliminated in the first round of Northern Section playoffs. As sophomores they were eliminated in the NSCIF semifinals and in their junior season they lost in extra innings in the NSCIF championship game.

This season, they came in with a mentality of “It starts now.”

The saying of “it starts now” carried with them throughout the season, and when the Wolverines held the CIF NorCal championship plaque up in the air for photos postgame, a paper with those words was held side by side.The Wolverines won the NSCIF championship by one run and earned the No. 1 seed in the CIF playoffs, giving them home field advantage throughout. They won game one by 10 runs in a game shortened to five innings due to the run rule, but in both the semifinal and championship games they came from behind to win.

King City, located south of Monterey nearly five ours away from Butte County, got the scoring started in the top of the first inning with one run on one hit and two walks.

The Wolverines got two hits in the bottom of the first inning from Arden Vines and Little, and nearly scored on a line drive off the bat of Riley Harrison to center field. King City centerfielder Avery Munoz dove full extension to her backhand side for the third out of the inning, keeping the Wolverines scoreless.

Biggs’ pitcher Sheppard, making her third start in four days, continued dealing in the circle, and her defense continued to shine. She struck out two and got the Mustangs to go 1-2-3 in the second inning, and Biggs continued to hit.

The Wolverines got one hit in the second inning but could not score. They were held scoreless in the top of the third inning, and in the bottom of the third the Wolverines scored two runs on one hit, three walks and a wild pitch and passed ball to take a 2-1 lead.

Arden Vines struck out to lead off the inning but reached first base on a dropped third strike that was thrown into right field by the catcher. With Seipert up Vines stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball off the glove of the catcher to score the Wolverines’ first run. Seipert walked, Little singled to right field, Sheppard walked, and Harrison hit a sacrifice fly to score Seipert to give Biggs a 2-1 lead.

“I knew we could do it,” Sheppard said. “We can always rely on our at bats, and when they scored one run we knew it was just one run and nothing we couldn’t come back from, and if they can have a good inning we can have a good inning too.”

In the bottom of the fifth inning Harrison and Emma Bermudez walked to lead off the inning. Natalie Harris-Villalobos was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Sheppard hit a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Wolverines a 3-1 lead.

The Wolverines added an important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Seaport and Little reached on back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, before Seipert scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Sheppard.

Little had three hits, Seipert had two hits, Vines had two hits and Harrison had two RBIs.

That insurance run would prove key. In the top of the seventh inning. The Mustangs had their top of their order due up, scored one run and had the tying run at the plate, but Sheppard escaped with a strikeout to end it on an inside screwball she had been favoring all game.

In seven innings Sheppard allowed five hits, two earned runs, walked four and struck out five.

Biggs and the rest of the CIF season comes to a close one week after Seipert and Little graduated May 30. The Wolverines end their season 29-3-1, while King City ends 20-12.

Small town love

The small-town school of Biggs, which features just under 180 students in its school, defeated two schools in its CIF playoff run of over 1,000 students in front of a packed crowd each game. Alumni, the superintendent, classmates and other coaches were all in attendance alongside family members to support their town.

“Biggs is the place that you want to come back, you want to raise your kids, you want to have roots here,” Seipert said. “There’s a heart in this town so it’s been great to have all the community come out and support us and cheer us on. It’s special, it really is.”

In the words of Seipert, “Biggs pride, Biggs proud, Wolverine power.”