Hornet Bats Are Starting to Hum

Fullerton took a wrong turn early in the Orange Empire Conference softball race, losing three of the first four games.

But thanks to a surging offense, the Hornets have slugged their way back toward the top of the standings.

Fullerton is hitting .323 overall and .357 in conference.

The Hornets, under fourth-year Coach Lisa Bassi, have won seven of their last eight conference games to improve to 8-4, 20-9-1 overall.

Fullerton trails first-place Cypress by two games and second-place Orange Coast by one as conference play resumes Wednesday after a week off for spring break.

“This team has really shown the ability to jell and bring our defense together,” Bassi said. “What’s been to our advantage this year is that we are strong from one to nine in the batting order.”

The Hornets have two players hitting better than .400 and five more at .300 or better overall. Alicia Robles leads the pack at .423. Janalyn Bloomfield is second at .420, but is hitting a team-best .571 in conference.

Melissa Graham (.360), Cindy Escobedo (.357), Lorraine Garcia (.346), Angie Guerrero (.329) and Delanie Jessen (.311) add to the Hornet offense that is averaging four runs per game.

Robles leads in runs scored with 22 and stolen bases with 14. Guerrero is tops in runs batted in with 18. Jessen has driven in 16.

Speaking of softball: One of the goals for Cypress and Coach Brad Pickler this season is to win 50 games. While some might consider it a tall order, the Chargers are well on the way to reaching the mark.

The Chargers are 37-14 and have more victories than any other conference team has games played. Last week, Cypress played in two tournaments, going a combined 9-4.

Pickler, in his seventh season, is two victories shy of his 250th. His mark at the school is 248-99.

Brad is trying to keep pace with his brother Scott, who is Cypress’ baseball coach. Scott got No. 250 last week.

Familiar faces: One appeal of going to baseball tournaments out of the area is the chance to play nonconference opponents. But such has hardly been the case for Saddleback and Fullerton.

The teams met April 3 in an Orange Empire Conference game, which Saddleback won, 10-5.

Fullerton, Saddleback and Orange Coast, another member of the conference, went to Visalia to play in the Buckman-Mitchell Tournament last week.

Sure enough, Fullerton and Saddleback advanced to the winners’ bracket final, where the Hornets won, 8-3.

Saddleback then beat Orange Coast, 9-3, to earn another chance at Fullerton. The Gauchos won twice, 7-1, and 7-3, to take the tournament title.

So, now it’s back to conference play today and it should come as no surprise that Saddleback is at Fullerton for a 2:30 p.m. game.

Speaking of baseball: Rancho Santiago (23-5, 9-4 in conference) holds a one-game lead over Orange Coast (18-12, 8-5) as the Orange Empire Conference race starts up again today.

Cypress (21-11, 8-7) and Saddleback (22-9, 8-7) are tied for third, Riverside (21-10, 7-6) is fifth, Fullerton (14-16, 4-9) sixth and Golden West (9-14, 3-9) seventh.

Besides Saddleback at Fullerton, Orange Coast is at Golden West and Riverside is at Cypress in 2:30 p.m. games today.

Rancho Santiago has bye today and plays a nonconference 2:30 p.m. game at home against Cal Lutheran JV Wednesday.

Community College Notes

Kevin Clark’s five doubles against Riverside April 3 not only were a Cypress record but an Orange County record as well. Clark was an all-conference catcher last season for the Chargers, but switched to third base this season. He is hitting .437 (59 of 135) with 19 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, and 46 RBIs . . . Robbie Shelton, an all-Orange Empire Conference forward for Cypress, is expected to sign Wednesday with Arkansas State. Shelton averaged 20 points for the Chargers last season.

Shannon O’Rourke, a sophomore shortstop, stole two bases last week in the College of the Sequoias Tournament to become the college’s career-leader with 22. O’Rourke, from Westminster High School, has 15 this season and needs one to break the single-season record of Sandy Martinez (1986). Jamie Parker, a freshman pitcher from Downey High School, is nearing Rancho Santiago’s single-season record for strikeouts. She is in second place with 119 and needs 13 to pass Joyce Lyman, who had 131 in 1987.

Gerad Cawhorn, a former standout at Golden West, is second in hitting in the Big West Conference for San Jose State. Cawhorn is hitting .396 with 37 RBIs. His 53 hits is tied for third best in the conference.