The Preps : La Habra Beats Buena Park to Earn Share of League Title

Marija Kristich singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving La Habra High School a tie for the Freeway League girls’ softball championship with a 2-1 victory over Buena Park in the regular-season finale Thursday at La Habra.

Kim Dornik, who started the inning at second base because of the international tie-breaker rule that took effect in the 10th, advanced to third on Shawna Lenahan’s infield out.

Kristich then lined a single to right to score Dornik and give La Habra (15-7, 8-2) its first league softball championship since 1984.

“Just to be co-champs of the league (with Sunny Hills, which defeated Troy, 7-0), is great,” said La Habra Coach Donn Brown. “The players are all awesome and they all pulled through when they had to.”

La Habra and Sunny Hills, which split the two games they played against each other, will flip a coin to determine which team will get the league’s No. 1 Southern Section playoff berth.

Buena Park (13-6, 6-4) finished league play in third place.

The Highlanders, who were limited to four hits by Buena Park’s Shannon Akau (10-5), took a 1-0 lead in the first. After Akau walked Cathy Turner with two outs, Crystal Streavel doubled to left-center.

Buena Park, held to five hits by winning pitcher Laura Corson (12-7), took advantage of two errors in the fourth to tie the score on an unearned run.

Akau and Corson each struck out nine.