San Pedro’s Victory Is One to Remember

A decade of dominance came to an end for the El Camino Real High softball team Wednesday afternoon at the hands of an avenging foe.

For the first time since 1981, El Camino Real will not be involved in the City Section’s 4-A Division championship game. San Pedro landed the knockout punch with a three-run ninth inning to beat El Camino Real, 6-3, in a 4-A Division playoff semifinal game at South Gate Park.

It was the first preliminary-round loss for Coach Neils Ludlow, who came to El Camino Real in 1985. The Conquistadores were the four-time defending City champions this season.

“It’s hard to be on this end, because we’ve been on the other end so long,” Ludlow said.

Too long, according to San Pedro Coach Tony Dobra--and he should know. El Camino Real has ended San Pedro’s season with playoff shutouts in four of the past five years.

Dobra is thankful that only two of his players have been around long enough to know that.

“We were very careful not to bring that stuff up,” he said.

San Pedro (19-5), the Pacific League champion, will play league rival Banning in the championship game next week. Banning edged Granada Hills, 3-2, in the other semifinal game.

After El Camino Real and San Pedro traded punches for eight innings, the Pirates put the game away with a big ninth. With the score tied, 3-3, Kris Jurat singled to left-center to start the winning rally.

Amie Roberts’ sacrifice bunt advanced Jurat to second, setting up what proved to be the pivotal play of the season for both schools. Diana Barile grounded a pitch to second baseman Lori Siff, who tried to throw out Jurat at third. But the throw was late, leaving runners at first and third with one out.

On the next pitch, Diane Marshall laid down a squeeze bunt and Jurat slid under the tag of catcher Carrie Reulbach with the go-ahead run.

After Mike Ahumada grounded out for the second out, Melissa Elgin broke the game open with a two-run triple.

The Pirates’ other big inning was the first, when they scored twice.

“This is the first time we’ve ever scored on them (in five years),” Dobra said. “When we scored early, I said, ‘We got this monkey off our back, we might as well beat ‘em now.’ ”

San Pedro still led, 2-1, in the sixth when it added what appeared to be an insurance run on a triple by Michelle Harper.

But El Camino Real (13-9) answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on four singles, including Heidi Crocker’s two-run single that tied it, 3-3.

The Conquistadores were not without chances to win it: El Camino Real stranded 12 runners.

“It was the kind of game where anyone could have broke it open at any time,” Ludlow said. “We had a lot of chances.”

In the other semifinal, Banning scored all of its runs in the second inning. Michelle Chavira and Rose Amezcua scored on a throwing error and the Pilots added another run on a squeeze bunt by Tami Robertson.

Granada Hills (15-3) scored both of its runs on throwing errors. Bobbie Dushane scored the first run in the opening inning and Kasey Miller scored the other in the seventh.

University High of Irvine 15, Redondo 0--The Seahawks made 10 errors and were held to two hits in a Southern Section 3-A Division wild-card game.