Ponderosa High tempted fate Tuesday by pitching to Yelli Calvo in the seventh inning with Vanden trailing 3-0. The unbeaten Bruins were one out away from advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game until Calvo postponed that out long enough for the Vikings to rally.

And third-seeded Vanden did just that, stunning No. 2 Ponderosa with a 4-3 win in Shingle Springs. The Vikings  handed the Bruins their first loss in 27 games and will now try to do the same against top-seeded Destiny Christian (27-0) on Saturday. Destiny Christian knocked out No. 5 Dixon 10-0.

Three runs in the first inning put Ponderosa in control and freshman Lauren Klomp kept Vanden at bay, allowing two hits through six innings. The left-hander came into the game at 18-0 with an 1.03 ERA and 229 strikeouts in 121.2 innings. She struck out 14 Tuesday in her 15th double-digit outing this season.

MJ Barlaan led off the seventh with a double against Klomp, who then retired the next two batters to put Vanden on the brink of elimination. The freshman could have walked Calvo with her six home runs and 35 RBI to bring KJ Horton, whom she had already struck out twice, to the plate.

That is exactly what Vanden head coach Anthony Trujillo would have done if the shoe had been on the other foot. Trujillo had already put his foot down on when and how the Vikings would pitch to Kate McCartney. The sophomore began the day with a .625 batting average, 20 homers an 49 RBI.

“(Calvo) is our dog. (McCartney) is their dog,” Trujillo said. “(Ponderosa) was rolling the dice in that situation. They had a pitcher that just came out of middle school and Yelli already know she’s going to college.” Calvo committed to the University of Florida after batting .720 as a sophomore in 2025. 

Ponderosa coach James O’Rourke was not completely off his rocker by deciding to pitch to Calvo. Even if Calvo homered, the Bruins would have led by a run with Horton batting and DJ Evans (0-for-3 with two strikeouts) on deck. Calvo’s homer was worth much more than two runs, however.

At least it was to her teammates. Trujillo had his doubts after the Vikings went six innings without a run. It was just the third time that Vanden was shut out in six consecutive innings this season. Two of the teams to do it, Oak Ridge and Rocklin, were eliminated in the section semifinals on Tuesday.

The third was Destiny Christian in a 4-1 win April 27. Vanden will have a shot at settling that score  Saturday because Horton and Evans homered after Calvo’s two-run blast to put the Vikings ahead. Horton’s homer was a surprise because the sophomore had not hit one in 65 at-bats this season. 

And Horton did not have one in 86 at-bats last year. “I don’t think she’s even hit one in practice,” Trujillo joked. Horton confirmed that to be true Thursday when the Vikings returned to practice after taking a break Wednesday. They were exhausted 24 hours after celebrating an improbable victory.

Klomp got two strikes on Horton before the first baseman looked at three balls for a full count. She certainly did not try or expect to hit a homer and did not believe she did even when the ball cleared the fence. The one change she made after striking out twice was not swinging at Klomp’s rise ball.

Her teammates also made the adjustment, Horton said, forcing Klomp “to come after us.” The Vikings took advantage by hitting three homers with their season one out away from ending. Klomp had allowed just three homers in 127.2 innings before deciding to try her luck against Calvo.

Oops.