SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS : Marina Freshman Beats Loara With Two-Hitter

If Marci Crouch was nervous pitching in her first Southern Section playoff game, her opponents from Loara never knew it.

Crouch, a freshman, pitched a two-hitter to lead Marina to a 2-0 victory in a Division 5-A wild-card softball game Tuesday at Marina. The Vikings (18-5) advance to Thursday’s first round against No. 1-seeded Mater Dei at Harvard Park in Irvine.

Crouch (10-2), who struck out five and walked none, appeared poised and in control throughout the game.

“That’s how she is,” Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. “She just gets focused and hones in and concentrates on her job.”

Marina needed Crouch to concentrate because Loara pitcher Tammy Hyde kept the Saxons (14-9) in the game with a strong performance of her own. Marina put a runner on base in each of the first three innings, but Hyde prevented the Vikings from scoring.

In the fourth, Marina took advantage of Julie Luft’s leadoff double, a walk and two well-executed sacrifices to score its runs. Luft was replaced by pinch-runner Camy Crouch, who advanced to third on Faith Fuata’s sacrifice bunt.

A walk to Heather Williams resulted in another pinch-runner, Amy Rubenstein, who stole second to give Marina runners on second and third with one out. Stephanie Tarvis followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Camy Crouch, and Rubenstein scored from second on the play after the throw to the plate got away.

Marci Crouch retired 13 batters in a row at one point, but Loara threatened in the sixth. The Saxons put runners on first and second with one out, but center fielder Robyn Yorke started an inning-ending double play with a diving catch of Christie Rowe’s line drive. Yorke then threw to second to double-up the Loara runner.

In other 5-A qualifying games:

Cypress 2, Camarillo 0--Monica Jimenez pitched a no-hitter to advance host Cypress (21-5). Jimenez (19-4) struck out nine and did not walk a batter. Cypress will meet Ventura Buena in the first round. Camarillo had only two baserunners, both reaching base on errors. The game was scoreless until the sixth, when Nikki Espriu led off with a triple. Nina Welch then hit a ground ball to second and Espriu beat the throw to the plate. With runners on second and third and two outs, Jimenez’s single drove in Welch.

Rosary 1, Garden Grove 0--Regina Martin’s single scored Michelle Glass in the fifth inning for the game’s only run. Nicola Walsh allowed two hits and struck out five for Rosary (12-8), which will meet Fountain Valley in the first round.

Kennedy 1, Huntington Beach 0 (9)--Kennedy (20-6) advanced to a first-round game at Ce rritos Gahr with the extra-innings victory. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Lisa Pitt singled, stole second and advanced to third on Joy Hannifin’s sacrifice bunt. Laurie Fritz then drove in Pitt with a single. Pitt also pitched three innings of shutout relief for the victory. Stefanie Noffsinger struck out nine and took the loss for Huntington Beach (12-13-1).