EMPIRE LEAGUE SOFTBALL ROUNDUP : Dolan Returns, Leads Los Alamitos

It took eight months for Carrie Dolan to finally get back on the mound, and though she’s a little rusty, she had the mettle to shut down visiting El Dorado in a key game for Los Alamitos.

The second-ranked Griffins won, 1-0, Thursday because they played solid defense behind Dolan and scored in the bottom of the sixth inning on a head-first slide by freshman Megan Barnes, her arm sweeping across the plate ahead of the catcher’s tag on a two-out single by sophomore Amanda Peterson.

The game was doubly important because both teams had lost in their Empire League debuts. Los Alamitos (12-2, 1-1) was beaten by Loara, and El Dorado (9-4, 0-2) lost to Katella.

Dolan was making her first start since sustaining a fractured forearm in August. It was her second major injury in high school--a bad back forced her out during her sophomore year.

The projected ace of the staff, she debuted with two innings of relief against Loara. She said she wasn’t nervous before her start, but she wasn’t sharp, either. She hit the backstop with an errant pitch several times, walked two and hit a batter “for the first time in years.”

“I was more embarrassed than anything,” Dolan said. “I didn’t have good command. My drop wouldn’t drop as much and my rise wouldn’t rise as much.”

She surrendered only one hit, a second-inning single through the left side by Kelly Tom.

Heather Hamer (5-3) took the loss. She allowed only two hits, four baserunners and threw only 60 pitches in six innings, striking out four.

After Barnes reached on a fielder’s choice, Shelby Olmstead bunted her to second. Then Peterson singled through Hamer’s legs, and Barnes beat the throw from center fielder Jenny Terrell.

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In other league games:

Katella 3, Esperanza 0--Kelsi Armbruster (7-7) pitched a one-hitter with four strikeouts for host Katella (8-9, 2-0). Michelle Bye was three for three at the plate. Esperanza is 0-2 in league.

Loara 2, Cypress 1--Senior Gina Bird, who tripled, scored the winning run from third base after a wild pitch. Tammy Hyde, who went the distance, had five strikeouts and a RBI. Loara is 13-3, 2-0.