SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS : Garden Grove Breaks Through to Edge Pacifica

It took until the seventh inning for Garden Grove High School to get its first hit off Pacifica pitcher Jennifer Surface Tuesday.

It took only an inning more for the Argonauts to get a run, and that is all it usually takes when Stephanie Smith is on the mound.

Sophomore Maria Romero, a pinch-runner, scored in the bottom of the eighth to give Garden Grove and Smith a 1-0 victory in the Southern Section 4-A softball semifinals.

The Argonauts will meet Charter Oak, a 2-0 winner over Kennedy, for the division championship Friday at 8 p.m. at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

Tuesday’s victory was the third of the season for the Argonauts (25-4-1) over Garden Grove League rival Pacifica, which finished 15-9.

Smith, who has allowed only one run in four playoff games, retired the final 20 batters after allowing her second hit, a single in the second inning. But Smith said she was nervous in the early going.

“The first couple of innings I was kind of rattled,” she said. “She (Surface) was striking us all out and they were getting some hits off of me.”

Surface, a sophomore, struck out 12 and only allowed one baserunner--she walked designated hitter Carol Blakeman in the second--until the seventh.

With one out in the seventh, Garden Grove’s Michelle Cash reached first on an error by second baseman Cindy Stoecklein, and Becky Eggers followed with the Argonauts’ first hit of the game, a double to right-center. Surface walked Cari White intentionally to load the bases and then struck out Blakeman and Briana Corona, each on called third strikes.

But Pacifica couldn’t dodge defeat in the eighth. Celeste Gordon, who had struck out in each of her first two at-bats, led off with an infield single and took second on a throwing error by third baseman Lisa Mascarenos. Romero ran for Gordon, and after Nakia Houston struck out, Smith was intentionally walked.

Kelly White then hit a ground ball to second, which Stoecklein fielded. Stoecklein tried to tag Smith as she ran by but missed, and her late throw to second rolled behind the base allowing Romero to score.

Smith, who struck out six and allowed only two baserunners, said she found a groove after her early struggles.

“I just felt strong,” she said. “I just was more confident and I knew that they could not beat me. Even if they get a couple of singles here and there, they couldn’t beat me.”