The Preps : Softball Roundup : Fountain Valley’s Contact Play Makes Difference in Victory

Defending Sunset League champion Fountain Valley did not get in the swing of things Thursday, and that’s why the visiting Barons beat Huntington Beach, 3-0, to claim a share of the league softball title with Marina.

Marina, which beat Ocean View 5-4, shares the title with Fountain Valley and gets the league’s No. 1 Southern Section playoff berth thanks to two victories over Fountain Valley. Huntington Beach will get the third playoff spot.

Baron Coach Cary Baker called off the heavy hitting and told his players just to make contact. The strategy paid off. The Barons (18-6-1, 7-3) tapped Oiler pitcher Pam Fogg (10-7) for seven hits, including Rae Rice’s towering triple in the sixth. Huntington Beach (13-12, 6-4) committed five errors.

“I only had one kid full swinging really,” Baker said. “The other times they were on their own (doing) sort of like a semi-slap kind of thing . . . They put the ball on the ground. It was a good effort.”

Baker went to the strategy against Fogg (10-7), a finesse pitcher. Last time, “We popped everything up in the air or were out in front (of the ball) the whole time,” Baker said of the Barons’ 11-inning, 1-0 victory.

“Today they treated (Fogg) like she was Lisa Fernandez (of St. Joseph) or (Heather) Compton (of Righetti) and just really shortened up and made good solid contact,” Oiler Coach Julie Parmenter said. “They hit the ball where it was pitched and didn’t try to be heroes.”

Kristin Santa Cruz started things for the Barons in the fifth when she reached on an error. Shannon Harrison and Trisha Staake executed back-to-back sacrifice bunts to advance Santa Cruz to third. Then left fielder Paula Estes singled to second to score Santa Cruz.

With one out in the sixth, Rice tripled to the gap in left-center. Lara Bruce replaced her at third as a pinch runner. Janet Miyahara squared to bunt, then slapped a single over second to score pinch-runner Lara Bruce. The Barons’ final run came in the seventh on a single by catcher Shannon Dolan.

Rice (8-4), who was slowed this season by a separated shoulder, pitched a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks.

In the Century League:

Canyon 11, Santa Ana 1--Sara Roberts (9-2) pitched a three-hitter for visiting Canyon (19-11, 8-2). Chanele Chambrone was three for three with four RBIs and Sherry Panchisin was two for four for Canyon. Santa Ana finished 5-17, 1-9.

Villa Park 4, El Modena 0--Villa Park finished tied for the league championship. Chris Redman (12-7) pitched a two-hitter and struck out 13 for visiting Villa Park (15-12, 8-2).

In the Empire League:

Los Alamitos 7, Katella 0--Shannon Skoglund (10-7) pitched a four-hitter, striking out four, as Los Alamitos (14-10, 8-2) clinched first place at Katella. Christy Bowles had three RBIs.

In the Freeway League:

Fullerton 4, Sonora 2--Heather Darke had three hits and two RBIs for the Indians (10-14, 4-6) at Fullerton.

Sunny Hills 7, Troy 0--Stacy Thurber (9-3) pitched a two-hitter, striking out seven, for host Sunny Hills (18-6, 8-2), which clinched its fifth consecutive league title.

In the Garden Grove League:

La Quinta 7, Pacifica 0--Bobbi Cloyd (11-8) pithed a two-hitter, striking out four, for La Quinta at La Quinta. Chemaine Ramirez had a three-run homer and Julie Bagley had a solo homer for La Quinta.

Los Amigos 2, Bolsa Grande 0--Alison Campbell (8-6) pitched a no-hitter, striking out five, as the Lobos (8-6 in league play) clinched the third playoff spot. Campbell walked only one.

In the Olympic League:

Whittier Christian 16, Ontario Christian 7--Isela Dugue had two hits and four RBIs for Whittier Christian (11-7, 10-4) at Ontario Christian.

In the Orange League:

Brea-Olinda 4, Magnolia 1--Digna Salas was three for three with two RBIs for host Brea (16-6, 8-2), which finished tied for the title with Western.

Western 3, Valencia 1--At Valencia, Dawn Fowler (9-4) pitched a seven-hitter, striking out two as the Pioneers (22-5, 8-2) finished tied for first with Brea-Olinda. Ivy Pinkerton had two RBIs for Western. Valencia (11-13, 7-3) finished third.

In the Sea View League:

Saddleback 14, Newport Harbor 4--Nakkanni Andrews and Ino Purcell hit solo home runs for Saddleback at Newport Harbor.

University 13, Estancia 0 (5 innings)--Nicole Shammas had three hits and two RBIs and Tricia Bell had two hits and two RBIs for University (15-8, 10-5) at Newport Harbor.

Tustin 7, Corona del Mar 1--Tustin (16-7, 13-2) tied for first with Saddleback, but advances to the playoffs as the league’s No. 1 team by virture of its 2-1 record against Saddleback. Shannon Ellis hit a home run in Tustin’s six-run seventh inning. Jayme Ondracek (8-1) pitched a three-hitter with six strikeouts.

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 3, Dana Hills 1--Jennifer Smith (11-12) pitched a two-hitter, striking out eight, for the Cougars (12-13, 4-6) at home.

El Toro 5, Mission Viejo 2--Cindy Way scored the winning run in the fourth and knocked in another run to lead visiting El Toro (17-12). Paige Lauby (12-7) got the victory, her third this season over Mission Viejo (14-10, 5-5). El Toro advances to the 3-A playoffs because it had a better record against Mission Viejo.

Irvine 2, San Clemente 1 (10 innings)--Lisa Goodwin drove in the winning run with no outs in the 10th for Irvine (17-7, 8-2).

In the Sunrise League:

Connelly 16, Sacred Heart 0--Cynthia Flores had four hits and two RBIs and Roberta Billings had three hits and three RBIs for Connelly (10-3, 8-0) at Sacred Heart.