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JSerra’s Zena Edwards, right, beats the throw to Santa Margarita catcher Katherine Murray to score in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) JSerra shortstop Melia Munoz can’t field the throw as Santa Margarita’s Isla Ebner steals second in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) Santa Margarita’s Sawyer Denser hits a two-run home run against JSerra in the second inning in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) Santa Margarita’s Sawyer Denser is greeted by teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning against JSerra in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) JSerra’s Melia Munoz scores a run after a pitch in the dirt got away from Santa Margarita catcher Lily Stieber in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) Santa Margarita’s Loreale Blake fires the ball to first base to get the JSerra runner in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) Santa Margarita’s Payton Kennedy winds to deliver a pitch against JSerra in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) JSerra’s Melia Munoz scores a run against Santa Margarita in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) JSerra left fielder Brooklyn Lamb gets the put out against Santa Margarita in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) JSerra’s Liliana Escobar delivers a pitch against Santa Margarita in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) Show Caption1 of 10JSerra’s Zena Edwards, right, beats the throw to Santa Margarita catcher Katherine Murray to score in a Trinity League softball game in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer) ExpandSAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Liliana Escobar fired a riseball past the batter for the final out, ripped off her fielder’s face mask and stomped on the infield as she was swarmed by teammates.
The JSerra pitcher and her softball team secured a long-sought victory Tuesday.
In a matchup against her former school, Escobar tossed a two-hitter and struck out 11 to lead the No. 10 Lions past No. 8 Santa Margarita 3-2 for their first victory of the season in the Trinity League.
“This was a little bit of a personal game for me,” said Escobar, a junior who played at Santa Margarita as a freshman. “I can get pretty fired up but I’m a little superstitious with trying to get excited about things. I don’t really do stuff until the end of the game but I knew I got them there.”
Escobar, who sat out last season because of her transfer, stranded the tying run at first base with her final strikeout.
The right-hander improved to 10-3, lowered her ERA to 0.90 and reached double-digit strikeouts in her fifth consecutive game.
“I’ve definitely been waiting for (this game) a little bit,” she Escobar, who has 164 strikeouts. “It’s a big deal for our team to come out here and win.”
JSerra (13-11, 1-4) rallied from an early 2-0 deficit for its second one-run victory this season. The Lions, who have lost four times by scores of 3-2, took the lead with one out in the sixth inning.
Melia Munoz scored from third base on a wild pitch to give the Lions a 3-2 lead. The freshman shortstop led off the inning by reaching first on a wild pitch after a strikeout. She then stole second and third.
“We’ve been struggling offensively,” JSerra coach Katie Stith said, “but we were in a very, very similar place last year … and we finished in a really good space (Division 1 semifinals).”
“To score three runs, for us today, was a big deal,” the coach added. “I’m proud of the team mostly because in the past, it’s been ‘Oh, (down) two runs, that’s not good. We can’t catch up’ … They kept battling (today).”
Munoz collected JSerra’s lone hit against Santa Margarita’s duo of Payton Kennedy and Sawyer Denser (7-4). She led off the fourth with a single and tied the score at 2-2 by scoring on a wild pitch.
In the third, the Lions’ Zena Edwards scored from third on a fielder’s choice on a grounder to short by Brooklyn Lamb.
Santa Margarita (15-7-1, 2-3), which beat first-place Orange Lutheran last week, grabbed the lead in the second inning on a two-run home run to left by Denser with two outs. The LMU-bound senior, who batted eighth in the order, belted a 1-1 screwball from Escobar for her first home run.
“Liliana shut us down,” Santa Margarita coach John FitzPatrick said. “Plays need to be made that weren’t made. Any other day, they’re made.”
“I think we have an excellent team,” the coach added. “(But) in Trinity League, it’s always a war.”
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