Softball: San Diego makes a statement in Carew Classic
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Certainly came away impressed with Oceanside El Camino at the Michelle Carew Classic on Saturday night. The Wildcats beat Norco, 4-1, in the championship game. Their pitcher, sophomore Naomi Amu, was at Murrieta Valley last season and threw a one-hitter. According to Coach Ron Mizushima, she’s not even the ace of the staff.
El Camino hits the ball a ton, too. It doesn’t get cheated when it swings, though Norco’s Teagan Gerhart struck out 14 (she threw 160 pitches). EC got six hits, and a few outs were hard-hit as well. The big hit was a bases-loaded double by Sharia Kliebenstein in the top of the seventh inning that broke a 1-1 tie.
Mizushima says his team is ranked third in San Diego, behind Escondido and San Diego Mt. Carmel. I couldn’t find that particular ranking online. The Union-Tribune has El Camino No. 8 overall in its March 31 ranking, and No. 4 in Division I. If El Camino really is the eighth-best team in San Diego -- or even the
third-best team -- then maybe Cal-Hi Sports needs to rethink its state rankings. Escondido, at No. 10, is the only team from the San Diego Section in the state top 20.
‘They can play with anybody,’ said Norco Caoch Rick Robinson. ‘The biggest thing is, as rankings go, is who you know. It’s who gets out there and sees you.’
Anaheim Canyon co-Coach Lance Eddy said of El Camino during the awards ceremony, ‘I’ve never seen a team hit, (batters) 1 through 9, like this team.’
After losing to Mt. Carmel on Wednesday, 5-4, El Camino came into the tournament on Thursday with a .383 team batting average and beat Chino, 11-4; beat No. 4 (in the state) Valencia, 6-1; lost to No. 15 El Toro, 7-5; beat No. 12 Canyon, 6-4; and then beat No. 5 Norco, 4-1.
‘I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but we sit back, and girls know how to make adjustments,’ said Mizushima, whose team five years ago was 5-22 in his first season. ‘They keep working and working, never give up, and we always seem to figure it out.’
-- Martin Henderson
-- Image from www.signonsandiego.com