Softball: Ayala off to a familiar start at the Carew Classic

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As expected, the Michelle Carew Classic is shaping up to be a pretty good tournament as it put to bed the first day’s activities.

Ayala, No. 5 in The Times’ top 25, continued where it left off from last month’s Nike Faster to First tournament, where it beat the nation’s No. 1 and 2 teams on consecutive days.

The Bulldogs defeated California Wednesday to move into championship side of the bracket, and then in the first of two pool-play games, outlasted No. 18 Vista Murrieta in nine innings, 7-6. That was a 2-2 game after seven. It featured a three-run double by Nani St. Germain to take a 5-2 lead in the top of the eighth, and then back-to-back homers by Vista Murrieta sophomore twins Tatum and Taylor Edwards in the bottom of the inning to tie it at 5-5.

Ayala will play at 5:30 p.m. against the winner between No. 4 Norco and Don Lugo. Should Norco win behind pitcher Teagan Gerhart, Norco-Ayala should be the game of the day. Ayala defeated Norco’s Mountain View League rival, Corona Santiago, in the Faster to First when Santiago was ranked No. 2 in the nation. Santiago, currently ranked No. 1 by The Times, has beaten Norco twice in league play.

In the other top games from Wednesday, No. 10 El Toro defeated No. 8 Lakewood, 6-2, and No. 12 Long Beach Wilson outlasted Sonora, 7-6. In that game, Sonora scored six runs in the last inning. Freshman Cheyanne Tarango pitched her fourth consecutive shutout and fifth in six games for No. 11 Anaheim Canyon in its 4-0 victory over Palos Verdes Peninsula.

In addition to Norco, No. 2 La Palma Kennedy and No. 3 Valencia begin play in the tournament today. There could be a good intersectional matchup at 7:30 p.m.

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www.ayala.chino.k12.ca.us