Silveyra shines in USD sweep

USD softball’s Sara Silveyra named WCC Player of the Week after big series to open conference play

Anderson Haigler / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

It’s every ballplayer’s dream. The game on the line, runners on base, the bottom of what could be the last inning. A chance to propel your team to victory with a hit. The walk-off. The pinnacle of drama in a sport known for its unwritten rules, and a cause for celebration in the face of a hard-fought win. Notching a walk-off hit is an impressive accomplishment at any level, but to have two walk-off hits in back-to-back games to open West Coast Conference (WCC) play? That’s just another weekend for the University of San Diego softball team’s Sara Silveyra. 

The magical three-game series for the junior began in dramatic fashion, with the Camarillo, California native striding to the plate with the bases loaded full of Toreros in the bottom of the fifth inning of their Saturday afternoon offering at the USD Softball Complex. A rally by her teammates earlier in the frame had turned what was once a close, 5-3 game into a bit of a blowout, making the score 8-3 USD by the time Silveyra’s spot in the lineup came back around. That’s not to say that her at-bat carried any less importance, however. NCAA softball’s rules dictate that if a team is ahead by eight or more runs after at least five innings of play, the game is over, and the team on the winning side of the lopsided score earns the victory. It’s what some call a “mercy rule.” 

Thus, with one swing of the bat, Silveyra had the chance to put a premature and emphatic end to the middle game of the Toreros’ crucial conference series against the University of the Pacific. After taking a ball and a strike to open the at-bat, the junior shortstop did just that, sending the third pitch she saw sailing into deep center field. It was well-struck, for sure. But would it be enough to clear the fence and end the game?

“I see it, like it’s gonna be close,” USD softball head coach Melissa McElvain, who was coaching third base at the time, said. “I’m just waving all the runners (toward home plate) — and it hits the top of the fence. I’ll tell you this: eight or nine balls out of 10 hit the top of the fence and come back into fair territory.”

This time, however, fortune favored the Toreros.

“So it was just crazy that she hit it so well and it hits the top of the fence and goes out,” McElvain said with a chuckle.

A clutch, grand-slam home run at the most opportune of times for USD. To Silveyra, it was a matter of sticking to her approach in her pivotal late-game plate appearance. 

“You know, you just keep things simple,” Silveyra said. “You don’t try to do too much. We just get base hits, and sometimes they go out.”

Though Silveyra stated that she would’ve been happy with a simple single, she was happy with the way her at-bat ultimately played out.

“It was amazing,” Silveyra said. “We play on a pretty big field, so you don’t know when it’s gonna go out, but it was really fun.”

Silveyra’s strong performance at the plate did not stop after the Toreros’ 12-3 mercy-rule victory over the Tigers, however. In the second game of the series the following day, USD once again jumped out to a sizable lead early on behind a grand slam of her own from fellow junior Madison Casiano. With her team leading 7-1 in the last of the fifth inning, Silveyra found herself batting with the bases loaded and another chance to end the game for the second time in as many days. 

The fortuitous situation begged the question: could Silveyra strike for a game-winning hit on two consecutive days? McElvain recalled that despite her best efforts, the possibility crept into her head.

“It was (on my mind), but I’m trying not to let it,” McElvain said. “She’s just so clutch that we kind of get our hopes up for her, and kind of have really high expectations.”

High expectations, indeed. But the only person setting the bar higher for the plate appearance than McElvain and her team was Silveyra herself.

“Yeah, for sure (the possibility of another walkoff was on my mind),” Silveyra said. “It’s good to have that confidence in yourself. I wanted to do it for my teammates.”

True to her word, Silveyra laced the second pitch she saw to left field, plating two Toreros and earning USD a 9-1 mercy-rule win of the game, as well as a sweep of their first WCC series of the season. As humble as they come, she was quick to credit her teammates as playing a large part in her big weekend.

“My teammates are the best, truly the best,” Silveyra said. “And I wouldn’t have been able to do that without them.” 

Silveyra’s final batting line on the weekend was impressive, to say the least, as she registered seven hits in 10 at-bats with a grand slam, three doubles, six RBIs, six runs and a walk, good for a .700 batting average, a 1.300 slugging percentage, and a .727 on-base percentage alongside her two walk-off hits. For her efforts she received WCC Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. Team-focused as always, Silveyra stated that as proud of her accomplishment as she was, she was simply happy to see a Torero get the award for a change.

“It’s awesome because BYU always gets it, so it was nice to bring it back here to USD,” Silveyra said with a laugh. “I didn’t expect that, but it was cool.”

McElvain weighed in on Silveyra’s big weekend. 

“It was amazing,” McElvain said. “She was probably seeing the ball like it was a huge beach ball. Great at-bats, great pitch selection — she clutched up.”

The three wins couldn’t have come at a better time for the Toreros. Because the WCC only has six softball teams compared to most other sports in the conferences’ 10, each of the 15 WCC games matter. And a hot start certainly doesn’t hurt the Toreros’ chances to do something they have never done before: win the regular-season WCC softball title. Whether USD (19-21, 3-3 WCC) can do so remains to be seen. But what is for certain is Silveyra and her teammates’ confidence in themselves.

“We’re gonna win conference this year,” Silveyra said with a smile.

The Toreros will return home to the USD Softball Complex on Saturday, May 4 at 12 p.m. to continue their quest for a West Coast Conference title against Santa Clara University. Admission is free for all USD students.