Bottom of the order boosts Estancia softball over Costa Mesa in Battle for the Bell

At the end of last spring, a softball game determined which of the Costa Mesa high schools would be taking home the All-Sports Cup.

Eight years in, Estancia has managed to hold onto the hardware every step of the way, but it took a dramatic comeback by the Eagles to get the job done last season.

Exactly 11 months ago on Monday, Kalena Shepherd hit a game-tying home run in the top of the seventh inning, sparking a five-run inning that gave Estancia another win in the rivalry.

In their first meeting in the Battle for the Bell series this season, Estancia and Costa Mesa had given their fans even greater reason to show up and support. Both teams opened Orange Coast League play ranked in their respective divisions.

Costa Mesa came into Monday’s contest as the third-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 poll. Estancia entered at No. 6 in Division 6.

A strong effort from the bottom of the order carried Estancia to an 8-3 win over host Costa Mesa, snapping the Mustangs’ 10-game winning streak.

Kyra Avila, the Eagles’ No. 8 hitter, hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning, breaking open what had been a scoreless game before the start of the inning. The junior second baseman sent Haley Wolf’s offering over the left-field fence to make it 5-0.

“We knew it was a hard game,” Avila said. “We’ll give them that. They’re good, and so it was fun. We definitely expected to have a good opponent.”

Avila said that it was her second home run of the season and first that she has taken out of the park. With regard to the pitch, she said, “It was down the middle. It wasn’t too far out. She didn’t jam me, so that was good.”

Estancia (10-3 overall) added three more runs in the seventh to re-establish a five-run lead. Senior left fielder Jessica Garcia singled to center, scoring Micaiah Watanabe-Patterson and Brittany Walker.

Even after Shepherd transferred to Salt Lake City West in Utah, Garcia said the former Estancia catcher has stayed in contact with her ex-teammates. Remembering last year’s home run, Garcia said she wanted to do it for her.

“I feel like Kalena was here in spirit, even though we can’t have her here,” Garcia said. “She was cheering us on. That hit definitely was for her.”

The No. 5 through 8 hitters — Walker, Perla Guerrero, Garcia and Avila — combined to drive in all eight runs for the Eagles.

“From the bottom half of our order, that is huge,” Eagles coach Michael Hunter said. “When the bottom half of your order is taking care of business, you can roll over the lineup, get to the top, and make some things happen.”

Freshman third baseman Dylann Douglass added two hits.

Walker earned the win. She pitched a complete game, allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out six.

She walked seven, but four of them were intentional. Hunter had a game plan to take the top of Costa Mesa’s batting order out of the game. Mustangs senior catcher Haley Sheffner was intentionally walked three times, and she did not see a strike in her other plate appearance.

“Those are great kids, but you cannot allow those kids to take the game to you,” Hunter said of Katie Belmontes and Sheffner. “In situations where there is a base open or it puts you in a good defensive position, that’s my job.”

Belmontes recently moved in from center field to the shortstop position, but the talented junior left Monday’s game in the fourth inning after sustaining a right knee injury.

She was covering second base as Walker attempted to leg out a double, and as the ball arrived, Belmontes was clipped by the slide.

The Mustangs star had ice on her knee during the game, and she had it in a brace after the game. She was able to walk on her own power.

“That’s a tough one,” Hunter said. “Close play at second base. [Walker] came in sliding clean, and it looked like [Belmontes] just dropped a knee to pick the ball, and they made contact.

“It was a bang-bang thing. It’s just so sad because she’s such a great player. I’m praying in my heart that she’s okay.”

As for how his team responded to the injury, Mustangs coach Doug Deats said, “Obviously, Katie is a big part of our team. She got hurt. I thought the kids battled well.”

Wolf drove in two runs with a single in the fifth, but Costa Mesa (13-4) left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings.

Senior third baseman Valerie Castro and sophomore second baseman Hailie Salyer each had two hits.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner