Softball: Del Toro outduels Fraser for Newport’s first win
It’s that time of year.
People have begun to flock to the field of dreams of their choice as America’s favorite pastime starts up again.
For those who can’t be one of the many making their annual pilgrimage to Arizona for Cactus League Spring Training baseball, all is not lost.
There is action on the diamond in the backyards of the coastal cities, and it won’t cost an arm and a leg to make the trip.
Newport Harbor High’s softball team opened the home portion of its schedule with an effort that the hometown crowd could get behind.
Samantha Del Toro allowed two hits in a complete-game, 4-3 victory over visiting Los Amigos on Tuesday in a nonleague game at Newport Harbor High.
In searching for a way to shut down the Lobos (0-1), Del Toro revealed that she took an introspective approach.
“I was throwing riseballs a lot,” she said. “Personally, I hate riseballs as a hitter, so it really tricks them.”
The Sailors senior pitcher needed 103 pitches to go the full seven innings. Four walks added to her pitch count, but only a lead-off walk in the third came back to haunt her.
For the most part, Del Toro (1-2) and her Los Amigos counterpart, Brittany Fraser (0-1), were able to keep the offenses in check. The biggest source of trouble was the errors that happened behind them.
Newport Harbor (1-2) committed four errors, while Los Amigos had three. Six of the seven runs scored were unearned.
Los Amigos took a 3-1 lead when it scored twice in a three-error top of the fourth for the Sailors. Christina Rodriguez hit a sharp grounder to second base. Kendall Machado knocked it down with her glove, but in her haste to get the throw off, she fired wide of first.
Jailyn Torres and Michelle Islas scored on the play for the Lobos.
Sailors third baseman Leah Freeman had two throwing errors in the inning. The Newport Harbor lead-off hitter was in a hurry to make amends.
In the bottom half of the inning, the free-swinging sophomore took the first pitch she saw in her third at-bat to the right-center gap, scoring Cynthia Jimenez and Lesley De La Rosa on a two-out triple.
“I was pretty upset about my errors,” Freeman said. “I just wanted to put in the work for the team.”
Freeman was the Daily Pilot Softball Player of the Year last season. She commented on her habit of swinging at the first pitch, which she did in all four of her plate appearances.
“I just want to swing at a strike,” she said. “If you’re not up there to swing right away, then they start throwing you nasty pitches.”
The triple put Newport Harbor up, 4-3. Jimenez also had a run-scoring single in the inning.
Claire Austin knocked in the Sailors’ first run with a double to center.
“I saw that they improved a lot in the timely hitting,” assessed Sailors Coach Tony Qualin. “They improved defensively. We still made two very costly base-running errors that cost us two runs.”
Los Amigos appeared on the season-opening CIF Southern Section watchlist for Division 6 teams. Lily Soto and Islas had the hits for the Lobos in their first game of the season.
With a young and inexperienced team on the field, Lobos Coach Chris de Anda is happy to have players like Fraser around to show them the way.
“She’s lights out,” he said. “She doesn’t let [errors on defense] affect her too much. She doesn’t let her emotions get the best of her. She stays consistent.”
Nonleague
Newport Harbor 4, Los Amigos 3
SCORE BY INNINGS
Los Amigos 001 200 0
Newport Harbor 010 300 X
Fraser and Ledezma, Moreno (5); Del Toro and De La Rosa. W – Del Toro, 1-2. L – Fraser, 0-1. 2B – Del Toro (NH), Austin (NH). 3B – Freeman (NH).
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
