Mission Viejo Gets Game-Winner in Seventh to Beat Sunny Hills, 3-2

After allowing Sunny Hills’ softball team to get back into its Southern Section Division 4-A playoff game Tuesday, Mission Viejo rallied for a run in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 3-2 victory.

Mission Viejo (12-15) advances to the quarterfinals Thursday against El Toro, a 3-2 winner over Covina Charter Oak. Sunny Hills, the Freeway League runner-up, finished with a 14-13 record.

The Diablos scored the winning run with one out in the seventh.

Colleen Daugherty opened the inning with a single to center off loser Bernie Fancuberta (4-3), who relieved starter Brandi Northrup in the fifth. Daugherty was forced at second on a grounder by Kim Laakso.

Keirith Briesenick then singled to center and another single to left by Brandi Beougher loaded the bases. Clean-up hitter Courtney Kerley drove in Laakso with a sacrifice fly to center.

“Courtney has come through for us before,” Mission Viejo Coach Jeff Cunningham said. “The hardest thing on that play (tagging up) is not to get the runner at third base to jump when they hit it that hard.”

The Diablos didn’t exactly crush the ball most of the afternoon, but they did take advantage of wildness by Northrup in the first inning and a fielder’s choice in the third to jump ahead, 2-0.

Northrup, a junior left-hander, walked four consecutive batters in the first inning to give Mission Viejo the early lead. In the fourth, she gave up a line single to center by Beougher and a bunt single by Kerley. A sacrifice by Treva Whitaker advanced the runners and Beougher scored moments later on a fielder’s choice by Kristen McDaniel.

Sunny Hills managed to tie the score with runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

With Mission Viejo right-hander Jodi Lemire (8-12) working on a three-hitter, Stacy Thurber led off the sixth with a bunt single and took second on a throwing error by third baseman Kerley. Thurber later scored on Jennifer Van Dyk’s fielder’s choice.

The Lancers got their final run when Brandi Hayes reached first in the seventh on a fielding error by Briesenick. Amanda Orr, who came in as a pinch-runner for Hayes, took second on a wild pitch and third on a fielder’s choice. She scored on pinch-hitter Nicole Smith’s single to left.

Hayes was two for two with a double and Thurber was two for four for Sunny Hills. Beougher was two for three for Mission Viejo.