Production at top powers La Cañada softball to league triumph
La Cañada’s Gillian Arnold hits an RBI double against Monrovia in the Spartans’ 7-2 win on Friday.
It was a production surge at the top of the La Cañada High softball lineup Friday afternoon that led the way.
In the first inning of a Rio Hondo League game against Monrovia, the first four Spartans batters combined to deliver two doubles, two singles, two runs and stake the hosts to an early lead against the Wildcats.
The quartet of Alexis Abboud, Maddy Reilly, Emily Tinkham and Gillian Arnold provided La Cañada with an abundance of offense on the day and lifted the team to a 7-2 victory.
The quartet went nine for 13 with three doubles, two walks, four runs batted in and five runs scored.
“I like having four girls in the lineup like that because I don’t have to worry about trying to be cute and doing small ball and trying to bunt all the time,” said Spartans assistant Forrest Brakeman, who was filling in for coach Chuck Gunter. “When they can all hit like that, it makes my life that much easier.
“I thought that we hit the ball pretty good throughout the lineup today, it was just those top four who really stood out.”
La Cañada, the reigning league titlist, collected 13 hits on the day as it won its 10th straight league game and its fifth in a row against Monrovia, which finished third in league last season.
Arnold was three for three with a double, a walk, two runs batted in and a run scored, while Abboud was three for four with a double and two runs scored, Reilly had a double, walk, RBI and two runs scored and Tinkham was two for three with a double, RBI and a run.
The Spartans (6-1, 2-0 in league) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after Abboud doubled, Reilly followed with an RBI double, Tinkham singled and was plated by a single from Arnold.
“I think when the first few batters get on base, it kind of carries the whole team,” Arnold said. “We have been really working hard to feed off the energy and feed off the momentum and work hard together as a team.
“We have been working hard to earn our spots in the top four and really we have a lot of good hitters all the way through and all of us girls can hit the ball.”
The Wildcats cut the advantage in half, 2-1, with a run in the second inning.
La Cañada responded and increased its lead to 5-1 with three runs in the third inning. Arnold drove in one run with a double and Taryn Harris (three for four with two runs batted in) drove in a run with a single.
The Spartans made it 7-1 with two more runs in the fourth, spearheaded by a run-scoring double by Tinkham and an RBI single by Harris.
Monrovia added a run in the sixth inning.
La Cañada pitcher Holly Stoner picked up the win, going seven innings, allowing eight hits, striking out 11 and walking one.
