In a competitive face-off between Carlmont and San Mateo’s varsity girls softball teams, the Bearcats triumphed 8-6 in an away game on April 22. Despite a strong effort to recover from a rough start, Carlmont ultimately fell short.
The victory brought San Mateo’s league record to 4-3, placing them at No. 5 in the league standings. Carlmont, now at 2-5, sits in the No. 7 spot as they head into the second half of their season.
“We had a bad first inning, but didn’t let it get us down. We responded quickly, which was great coming from such a young team,” said San Mateo head coach Robert Burley.
Sophomore Bearcat pitcher Anushka Singh delivered a clean 1-2-3 inning in the second, which was critical in helping San Mateo to settle after a rocky start. Her efforts helped shift the momentum toward the Bearcats early in the game.
“We swung at pitches we shouldn’t have; our game plan was to strike early and strike often, and we didn’t get that done today,” said Scots coach Tom Romero.
San Mateo jumped to an early lead. The Bearcats came out strong, scoring multiple runs early in the game. By the end of the third inning, the Bearcats were up 6-3. They added another run in the fourth, extending their lead to a commanding 7-3.
Carlmont fought hard to make a comeback, scoring two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to narrow the gap to 7–6.
“It was nice to play a home game with so many people supporting us and bringing the energy,” said Bearcat sophomore Alice Han.
Ultimately, San Mateo answered, adding one more run in the seventh, holding off Carlmont’s rally, and sealing the win. While Carlmont couldn’t find the late-game hit that they needed.
“San Mateo seemed like they wanted it more than we did. They came out and fought — they were scrappy,” Romero said.
Despite the loss, Carlmont is planning to go undefeated for the rest of the season as they rematch all the league teams. Both teams also hope to make it to the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs.Â
“We’re a young team, with mostly freshmen and sophomores, so the main goal is to keep learning, improving, and building confidence. If we can grow and take it one game at a time, we’ll be in good shape,” Burley said.
