KING CITY — Last week the King City Mustangs’ journey to a softball league title was straightforward: win the rest of their games and become league champs. But after losing to Pacific Grove on Friday, there’s now a three-way tie for first in the Cypress Division.
Since the Lady Mustangs returned to the field after a two-week break, they have scored double-digit run-ins during their four-game winning streak.
The week started with a game against Soledad Aztecs, who King City beat on April 5 by 13-1. Once again, the Lady Mustangs scored many runs, but the Lady Aztecs did the same. The Mustangs ultimately won, 17-16.
In the win over the Aztecs, King City’s Lisa Villanueva hit her 12th home run of the season.
With only two games left in the regular season, the Lady Mustangs were only two wins away from claiming a league title outright.
With only Pacific Grove and Rancho San Juan left on the schedule, King City had the upper hand since they had beaten both teams by double-digit runs in their first matchups.
First up was the second game with Pacific Grove. Just a week ago, the Lady Mustangs beat them 14-4. This time, Pacific Grove turned the table, with King City only getting two hits in the game and falling 5-2.
With the loss, the Lady Mustangs cannot win the Cypress Division outright and gave their longest rivals, the Gonzales Spartans, a chance to become co-champs. Now, there is a three-way tie for the top spot in the division.
Gonzales, King City and Pacific Grove are tied at 9-2 for the best record in the league.
This week, Gonzales and Pacific Grove will play each other for the second time to determine who will be co-champs. The Lady Mustangs headed to Salinas on Tuesday to take on Rancho San Juan, with the first pitch at 4:30 p.m., after press deadlines.
