Freshman pitcher, new hero lead Willow Glen to final

SAN JOSE — Freshman right-hander Alanna Clincy was up to the challenge in the biggest game in Willow Glen softball history.

Clincy pitched a two-hit shutout Thursday as Willow Glen defeated Bullard of Fresno 1-0 in the Northern California regional Division II semifinals. The Rams will host No. 3 seed Notre Dame-Salinas on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the NorCal D-II championship. Notre Dame advanced with a 3-0 win in eight innings over No. 2 seed East Nicolaus.

“It’s super exciting for our school because it’s the furthest we’ve been in Willow Glen history,” senior catcher McKenna Campbell said.

Clincy retired the first 11 batters she faced before issuing a pair of walks with two out in the fourth. She got the next batter on a pop out to get out of that mini-jam. Bullard didn’t get its first hit off her until there were two out in the fifth.

Clincy improved to 12-3 on the season. She’s allowed 51 hits in 112 ⅔ innings while striking out 177.

“She pitched super good,” Campbell, her catcher, said. “We have high expectations for her because we know how good she can be.”

“My defense backed me up again,” Clincy said. “I’m really tired but I’m glad to get the win. Try to keep it going one more game.”

The game was still scoreless until Willow Glen came up in the bottom of the sixth. Campbell led off with a double into the left-field corner. Sienna Wilson bunted her over to third and then shortstop Aleki Ulu came up with the infield in and hit a screaming liner off the third baseman’s glove for a single to score the only run of the game.

“It’s somebody different every time,” Willow Glen coach Don Spingola said. “That’s what makes this team so special. It’s a complete team effort. We don’t have one person that carries this team. Every time it’s a surprise to us who is going to step forward. That’s what’s exciting about this team, a different person every time.”.

That one run turned out to be all Willow Glen (22-7) needed.