Thousand Oaks Enjoys Camarillo’s Party

The Camarillo High softball team looked nothing like a league champion Thursday. The Scorpions committed six errors and stranded seven baserunners in dropping a 7-0 decision to Thousand Oaks in a Marmonte League game at Mission Oaks Park in Camarillo.

But then the game meant virtually nothing to the Scorpions. After all, Camarillo (20-5, 11-3) entered the game as the league champion by virtue of Agoura’s 4-0 win over Thousand Oaks on Tuesday.

It is the school’s first league softball title and the players spent much of the past two days celebrating. Even Thursday’s loss failed to spoil the party.

“We really stunk up the joint today,” said Camarillo Coach Darwin Tolzin, who was sprayed with whipping cream by his players after the game.

But while Camarillo squandered its last league game, Thousand Oaks (15-10, 10-4), which finished tied with Simi Valley (18-5, 10-4) for second in the league standings, needed a victory to clinch the league’s No. 2 seeding in the Southern Section 5-A Division playoffs.

Carrie Russell (15-10) helped secure that seeding with a four-hitter. Nicki Ochoa also pitched in, collecting two of the Lancers’ three hits. Even a strong wind blowing in from left field couldn’t stop Ochoa’s run-scoring, line-drive double in the first inning.

The Lancers added four runs in the fourth with the help of three poor Camarillo throws. Ochoa led off the inning with a line-drive single up the middle and Angie Nau followed with a bloop single over the shortstop.

Three errors and a walk later, it was 5-0 Thousand Oaks.

Camarillo’s Christi Moore, who was undefeated this season on the junior varsity, came on in relief of Nicole Demarest (8-2) and pitched the final three innings. After allowing two unearned runs in the fifth, Moore retired the next seven batters, four on consecutive strikeouts.