LOS ALAMITOS — Facing the hottest pitcher on the No. 1-ranked softball team in Orange County didn’t appear to be most favorable match-up for Los Alamitos High’s scuffling offense on Saturday, May 1.

But the Griffins had plans for Arizona commit Sydney Somerndike and Villa Park, plenty of resolve and even a few base running surprises from Coach Rob Weil.

Oklahoma-bound Sophia Nugent belted a two-run home run and Malayna Terrones and Emma Haygood added back-to-back home runs as the No. 3 Griffins emerged from their hitting slump to defeat previously undefeated Villa Park 8-1 in a Savanna Showcase game at Los Alamitos.

Los Alamitos (11-4) lost 3-1 and 1-0 earlier this week to Edison and Crescenta Valley, respectively. The previous week, the Griffins fell to Pacifica and Huntington Beach, 3-2, and, 5-4, respectively.

“We’ve been playing some good quality teams and good pitchers and we just kind of hit the wall,” Weil said of the stretch. “Hitting is contagious, up and a down the lineup. One (hit) falls, and it seems like they all fall. Today, we had a game plan with this kid, who is very talented … and were able to connect on a few balls.”

Weil said the Griffins’ approach was to stay off Somerndike’s rise ball and force the junior to bring her pitchers lower in the zone.

“She’s a rise-ball pitcher,” Weil said. “We were very disciplined.”

In the fourth, Nugent belted a 1-1 pitch to right to give Los Alamitos a 3-0 lead. The senior drove in No. 9 batter Jules Ronquillo, who reached one batter earlier on a two-out bunt single.

Los Alamitos finished with 11 hits off Somerndike (13-1), including back-to-back shots by Terrones and Haygood in a four-run seventh. It was the first home runs of the season for the left-handed hitters.

Villa Park coach Terry Williams said Somerndike was bothered by a jammed finger on her pitching hand.

“I debated not pitching her at all,” he said. “Her rise ball wasn’t working for her. … but she battled through it and tried to give us a chance.”

Los Alamitos sophomore pitcher Anjali Maline (2-0) went the distance for the Griffins, allowing only a solo home run to sophomore Claire Duckworth with two outs in the fourth. Duckworth nearly homered in the second but center fielder Erin Mendoza robbed her of the homer with a running catch at the fence.

Weil also injected plenty of base running into the Griffins’ attack. With two out in the third, Diamond Sefe stole third on a fake bunt and scored the first run when the throw from the catcher sailed down the line.

After Haygood led off the sixth with a double, Mendoza followed with a bunt single and purposely rounded first aggressively to create a rundown, which led to pinch-runner Camryn Johnson scoring from second.

“We did get a little frustrated at first (about our offensive woes) but then we started to realize we’re in this together,” Nugent said. “We had a 6 a.m. practice recently and we worked on some things and fixed things.”

Read more about Los Alamitos softball finds its offensive firepower, knocks off No. 1 Villa Park This post was shared via Orange County Register’s RSS Feed

Powered by WPeMatico

ANAHEIM — Esperanza High’s softball team didn’t waste any time Tuesday, April 6 showing it was ready to rebound for a tough loss last week.

The Aztecs also unexpectedly showed another dimension to their arsenal, which has already knocked off the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.

Esperanza scored three runs in the first inning and received a combined four-hitter in the circle from Emily Gomez and Brooke Perez en route to a 3-0 victory against visiting and well-regarded La Mirada.

Esperanza (4-1) plated three runs before La Mirada (4-3) recorded an out. Playing its first game since losing to Pacifica last week, the Aztecs opened the bottom of half of the first with doubles from freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker, sophomore shortstop Sharyn Duncan and senior center fielder Hannah Coor and a run-scoring single from senior catcher Raquelle Ngue, the cleanup hitter.

.⁦@coor_hannah⁩ doing Hannah Coor stuff Esperanza 3-0 after 1st ⁦@OU_Softball⁩ pic.twitter.com/Wb1RdSVWCK

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) April 6, 2021

Ngue added a double in the second and finished 2 for 3.

The Oklahoma-bound Coor said a 3-0 loss last week to Pacifica sparked the Aztecs’ bats in the first inning.

“We were pretty flat the whole game (against Pacifica) so we just wanted to make sure we came out swinging this game and get a good win,” she said.

Gomez and Perez took care of the rest in the circle, though Gomez left unexpectedly in the fifth. With two outs in the inning, Gomez fielded a grounder back to the circle awkwardly. The senior, who pitched the Aztecs past former nationally No. 1-ranked Chino Hills, smiled afterward but walked gingerly off the field.

“She stepped in a hole out there — the hole pitchers make from their plant foot — and just rolled it (her ankle),” Esperanza coach Tunstall said. “I think it’s a good sign that she was able to walk on it. The real bad ones you can’t even put weight on it. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Gomez allowed only three hits — though Alyssa Campbell led off the second with a double that nearly cleared the fence. Gomez struck out six and walked one.

Perez, a junior, took over in the circle and showed that the Aztecs have some quality pitching depth. She only allowed an infield single off her glove and struck out three in 2 1/2 innings. Shumaker provided defensive support with a running catch in the sixth.

Final: ⁦@esprnzasoftball⁩ 3 ⁦@MatsSoftball⁩ 0 ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ pic.twitter.com/YsUIFbbNSy

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) April 6, 2021

If Gomez can’t pitch Thursday against Santiago Corona, Tunstall said Perez will take the ball with freshman left fielder Mia Sanchez moving to the No. 2 pitcher spot.

“This is probably one of the best teams I’ve been on at Esperanza,” said Coor, a four-year varsity player. “I think we all mesh together very well. We all get along. There’s no drama. There’s good communication. We pick each other up.”

That certainly was the case Tuesday.

Read more about Esperanza softball bolsters resume by defeating La Mirada but Emily Gomez injured This post was shared via Orange County Register’s RSS Feed

Powered by WPeMatico

Villa Park High’s Sydney Somerndike completed her quest for perfection on Monday, March 29.

The junior notched her first career perfect game, striking 18 batters in an 8-0 victory against visiting JSerra in a nonleague softball game.

What an awesome performance by Sydney Somerndike and her @VPSoftball teammates! @ocvarsity @ocvarsityguy @DrKenMiller1 @VPHSathletics @latsondheimer @CallMeEPJ pic.twitter.com/Jr1j7w8cNJ

— Autumn (@Autumn77427978) March 30, 2021

The Arizona commit nearly fired a no-hitter on Saturday at Pacifica but surrendered a two-run home run with one out in the seventh inning of a 7-2 triumph. Somerndike (4-0) said afterward that she has struggled to close out her chances for a no-hitter or perfect game but she changed that script Monday.

“I finally got my perfect game,” she said. “I was so relieved and excited. It was such a fun game.”

Somerndike was swarmed by her teammates afterward. She and the Spartans (4-0) play at Aliso Niguel on Thursday and play host to Kennedy on Friday.

Read more about Villa Park’s Sydney Somerndike throws perfect game against JSerra This post was shared via Orange County Register’s RSS Feed

Powered by WPeMatico