Simi Valley Finds Its Meal Ticket : Prep softball: Lufkin earns a free dinner with key hit in Pioneers’ 2-1 win over Newbury Park.

When Heather Santiago wants something badly enough she will even resort to bribery to get it.

The senior right-hander, in her first outing of the season, did just that Thursday in an effort to persuade the Simi Valley softball team to get some much-needed offense.

Kris Lufkin, a sophomore, responded with a two-run single in the sixth inning to fuel the Pioneers’ come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Newbury Park in a Marmonte League game at Rancho Simi Community Park on Thursday afternoon.

Santiago (1-0), who had missed the Pioneers’ first 12 games because of a left quadriceps pull, knew that Simi Valley (11-2, 4-1) needed some key hits or it would suffer its second consecutive league loss.

“I was sitting on the bench saying, ‘Please, somebody hit the ball. I’ll take you out to dinner if you get me a run,’ ” Santiago said.

Sophie Sobol (6-2), Newbury Park’s senior right-hander, kept the Pioneers, ranked fifth in the Southern Section 5-A Division, quiet in the early innings, allowing just one hit through five innings. Sobol, who threw a three-hitter with two strikeouts, retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced and 15 of the first 18.

However, she was not at all comfortable on the mound.

“My pitches weren’t working, my curveball didn’t work, everything came up,” Sobol said. “My rise ball went way too high.

“The mound was giving me trouble throughout the game. It was on an incline, so a drop ball will work fine but (the umpire) had a high strike zone. It was hard for me to adjust.”

Simi Valley’s Taina Tande led off the sixth inning with a line single between the shortstop and third baseman. Sara Griffin then reached first when shortstop Marcy James misplayed her ground ball. Kathy Beasley hit into a fielder’s choice to leave runners at first and third with one out. Michele Castonguay followed with a chopper to James, who faked a throw to first and swung around to get Tande in a rundown between third and home.

Lufkin’s line drive into shallow right field earned her a free meal and netted the Pioneers two runs (Beasley and Castonguay), giving Santiago all the confidence and insurance she needed to retire the second-ranked Panthers in order in the seventh. Santiago allowed five hits and struck out six.

Newbury Park (9-3, 2-2) scored its run with two out in the third on Tracy Little’s double to left-center.