Softball: Hawthorne is a perennial pushover no more

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The seven-year drought is nearing an end.

The Hawthorne Cougars -- perennial pushovers in the Ocean League -- can clinch third place with a victory over Beverly Hills on Thursday, and, more important, they would clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2001. And that’s not just in softball. No Hawthorne girls’ team has reached the playoffs in the last seven years.

This season, Hawthorne (16-7, 5-4) has been led by Jessica Rose (.431 average, two homers, 19 RBIs and 27 runs scored) and freshman Gabrielle Valerio (.493, eight homers and 51 RBIs). In the pitching circle, Krizia Sanfillippo has been ace-like solid with a 10-6 record and a 2.63 ERA.

Here’s why there’s a good chance Hawthorne’s drought will end against Beverly Hills: The Cougars beat the Normans, 5-0, earlier this season.

-- Anthony Stitt