Moorpark Faces a Difficult Task : Lady Raiders Need Sweep Today to Stay Alive in Softball Playoffs

During their postgame meeting, Moorpark College softball team members sat quietly along a bench, leaning with their backs against the dugout wall.

Today, the Lady Raiders again will have their backs to the wall--and not the one in the dugout this time--thanks to a 9-3 loss to San Diego Mesa College in the first game of a best-of-three series in the Southern California junior college regional playoffs Saturday at Moorpark.

The Lady Raiders, the fourth-seeded team in the 16-team tournament, will have to sweep two games from fifth-seeded San Diego Mesa today to qualify for next week’s state championships. The first game will start at noon at Moorpark, with the second game--if necessary--to follow.

“It’s a do-or-die game,” Moorpark College Coach Will Thurston said.

The Lady Olympians (27-12) unloaded their arsenal--including two home runs--against the Lady Raiders (26-11-1), scoring six runs in the final four innings to break a 3-3 tie and end a five-game Moorpark winning streak.

“They’re a good team,” Moorpark’s Julie Myers said. “I think this is the best hitting team we’ve played.”

Although Moorpark had not faced San Diego Mesa this year, Thurston was not surprised that the Lady Olympians turned out to be heavy hitters.

“They seemed to hit the ball hard every time,” he said. “They didn’t have any cheap shots. I knew they were a good team, that they could hit the ball. But I was surprised with how quick they were.”

San Diego Mesa quickly jumped in front with three runs in the third inning on a walk, an error and two hits, including a two-run home run to left-center by Steffani Everett.

Moorpark responded in its half of third, tying the score, 3-3. Malia Ouzts hit a one-out single to left, stole second and moved to third on a base hit by Laura Detweiler, who was 3 for 3.

Ouzts and Detweiler both scored on Jamie McDaniel’s double to left and McDaniel came home as San Diego Mesa left fielder Sandy Gohres misplayed the ball hit by McDaniel for a two-base error.

After the third, however, the Lady Raiders were frustrated by winning pitcher Torrie Cababa (12-3). The Lady Raiders stranded runners at first and third in the fifth and had the bases loaded in the seventh but failed to score.

San Diego Mesa, meanwhile, scored two runs in the fourth on a hit, a walk and two errors. The Lady Olympians pushed across three more runs in the sixth on a fielder’s choice, another walk by losing pitcher De Dow (18-7), and two hits, including a three-run homer by Lorena Aviles.

Mesa, which entered the playoffs as the third-place team from the tough Pacific Coast Conference (of which top-seeded Palomar and third-seeded Southwestern College are members), closed the scoring in the seventh on a fielder’s choice, a hit and two errors.