Laguna Beach softball strengthens playoff hopes with sweep of Estancia

A remarkable turnaround has happened within the Laguna Beach High softball program.

The Breakers’ upperclassmen remember some lean days when they were first starting out. During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Laguna Beach won a grand total of three games.

Fast forward to this year, and the Breakers find themselves in the hunt to make the CIF Southern Section Division 7 playoffs.

Laguna Beach rallied for a 6-4 win at Estancia on Monday, completing a critical Orange Coast League sweep.

The Breakers improved to 10-9-1 overall and 3-4 in league following their second win in six days over the Eagles (12-7, 2-4). Laguna Beach pulled to within a half a game of third-place Costa Mesa (16-6, 3-3). The Mustangs will host the Breakers on Friday at 3:15 p.m.

“I feel really proud of my team, and we’ve come a long way since my freshman year,” Laguna Beach junior Emily Thomas said. “It feels great to see that on the field, to see all of our hard work pay off.”

Thomas threw a complete game with eight strikeouts. She allowed one run over the final four innings to give her team the opportunity to mount a comeback.

Brittany Walker’s run-scoring single gave Estancia a 3-2 lead in the third. Laguna Beach tied the score at 3-3 when Rhys Campbell came home on a Lola Fisher groundout.

With the assistance of the Eagles’ defense, the Breakers scored three times in the sixth to retake the lead. Mia Pitz reached with one out on a fielding error by shortstop Emily Kubisty. Madilyn Garwal singled to put two on before disaster struck for Estancia.

Campbell sent another grounder to Kubisty, who let the ball ricochet behind her. She retrieved the ball in shallow left field. Pitz headed for home, and Kubisty’s throw to the plate sailed to the backstop. The ball caromed around the fence, ending up in front of the visitors’ dugout on the first-base side.

At the end of the play, two runs had scored with Campbell standing on third.

“It was unfortunate for [Kubisty] because it wasn’t exactly my well-doing,” Campbell said. “It was her mistake, but it was good to see everyone running around the bases and scoring runs. That’s pretty much what we want to do.”

Later in the inning, Cienna Wunder stole home. It was the second time in as many games that a Laguna Beach player had accomplished the rare feat.

“I saw the opportunity,” Wunder said of the delayed steal. “[Walker] was turning her back. Every time the catcher threw the ball to her, she would put it in her glove.

“I saw that we had two outs, so I figured that it was now or never. We got to get the safety runs because you never know what can happen in the bottom of the seventh inning.”

Thomas also helped herself out with the bat. She drove in the first two runs of the game with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the first inning.

Maddy Melchor and Thomas each had doubles for the Breakers.

Micaiah Watanabe-Patterson had three hits to lead the Eagles. Kubisty and Walker each added two hits, and Dylann Douglass had two runs batted in.

“That effort is the definition of this program, and it is unbelievable to see where this was three years ago and where we are now,” Breakers second-year coach James Crawford said. “It’s spectacular. It’s awesome.”

The loss represented a setback for Estancia, which is ranked fourth in the CIF Southern Section Division 6 poll, but Eagles coach Michael Hunter reminded his team that there are still games left on the schedule.

“The kids knew what this game meant,” Hunter said. “It was a big game. We needed to split with them. I told my girls, ‘At the end of the day, there’s another game tomorrow. By no means are we out of this thing.’

“We still have an opportunity to come in third place, depending on what [Laguna Beach] does, or to get a wild-card spot as an at-large bid.”

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner