The Preps : Garden Grove League Roundup : Kennedy Moves Out to Take Top Spot With a 2-1 Victory

Some savvy base running by Kennedy High School catcher Kris Vucurevic helped lead the Fighting Irish to a 2-1 victory over Garden Grove in a Garden Grove League softball game Thursday at Kennedy.

Kennedy (18-4 overall, 11-1 in league play) avenged an earlier loss to Garden Grove and took sole possession of first place in the league with two games remaining. Garden Grove dropped to 17-9 and 10-2.

Vucurevic scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, center fielder Suzie Berdis hit a high chopper to third and beat the throw for a single. She advanced to second on a passed ball.

Vucurevic hit a grounder to shortstop Michelle Cash, who faked the throw to first and then threw to second to catch Berdis between bases. The third baseman and second baseman got her in a rundown, with second baseman Cyndi Horton eventually making the tag.

During the rundown, Vucurevic reached second with a head-first slide. Kennedy pitcher Cheryl Longeway then singled to third and Vucurevic came home with the winning run.

Longeway (16-3) not only knocked in the winning RBI, she pitched a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Three of them came in the top of the seventh to end the game.

“When (Longeway) has to, she’ll bear down and nobody will get hits off her,” Kennedy assistant coach Janet Lloyd said.

A call by plate umpire Charles Durbin in the bottom of the fourth seemed to get the Kennedy batters’ dander up.

With no score in the game, Kennedy shortstop Missi Gyde hit a towering fly ball over center fielder Andrea Handley’s head for an apparent home run and Kennedy’s first hit. But Durbin ruled her out, saying she never touched third base.

“That fired our team up right there,” Lloyd said.

Stephanie Hill singled, then stole second. Garden Grove pitcher Stephanie Smith walked Stacy Wahlsteen. Then third baseman Gina Alcosar punched a single to left field to score Hill.

Garden Grove came back in the top of the sixth. Kim Clark reached on an error and advanced to second on Smith’s sacrifice bunt. Catcher Becky Eggers hit a grounder through the infield for a single to advance Clark to third.

Berdis’ throw from center field was wild, and by the time Vucurevic recovered the ball, Eggers had reached second. In the meantime, Clark alertly came home, beating the throw from second base to tie the score, 1-1.

Garden Grove batters then struck out and flied out to end the inning.

Bolsa Grande 4, Santiago 3--Catcher Cherie Samson hit two triples, scored twice and had two RBIs to lead Bolsa Grande (7-12, 5-7) at Santiago.

Los Amigos 3, La Quinta 1--Alison Campbell pitched a three-hitter, striking out two, for Los Amigos at La Quinta. Bobbie Cloyd pitched a two-hitter for La Quinta, but the Aztecs made three errors in the fifth, which led to all three Los Amigos runs.