Laguna Hills Planning to Come Out Swinging in Tournament : Softball: Other schools like to bunt but the Hawks will have none of that. Getting some cuts at the plate is important.

Woodbridge and Irvine finished the year ranked first and second in the Southern Section Softball Coaches Poll. The two Sea View League schools are seeded that way in the Division III playoffs, which begin Friday. That’s no surprise.

But neither is the most intriguing team in the 32-school lineup. That honor belongs to Laguna Hills.

Softball is a bunter’s game, built around speed, but the Hawks don’t play that way.

They are, like their best hitter, Jennifer Milo, an anomaly.

Laguna Hills takes its hacks, and is batting .328 as a team entering the playoffs. Seven players are batting .300 or better.

“They probably are more dangerous because they don’t play the short game,” said Woodbridge Coach Alan Dugard, whose team won the section’s 3-A title last year, beat Laguna Hills 6-0 early this season and could meet the Hawks in the semifinals. “All of a sudden, the bases are loaded and they’ve got a power hitter up--and it only takes one. Then you’re behind, and then they get tough. If they get ahead of you, they’re going to play you to the hilt.”

Cary Crouch is calling the shots for Laguna Hills (19-5, 10-0), and though this team lacks the dominant players he coached to the 1987 Southern Section 2-A co-championship, he says it is “more solid” from top to bottom. But he also knows their style has limitations.

“The (problem with) teams that take their hacks is you can hit it a ton and hit it at people; you’re less consistent when you’re a big ball team,” he said. “You need to have some little ball that gets people out there so that when you get that big ball, you’re driving people in. That’s what we try to thrive on.”

There hasn’t been much need to play little ball just to get runners on base. In 10 league games, the Hawks played only two that were decided by two runs or fewer--both against Trabuco Hills--and six were decided by nine runs or more. They outscored opponents, 133-12.

In the playoffs, Alycia Stevens (.463, 29 runs) will be the key.

“If you look at our close games, she’s gotten out there and we’ve got three people that can pound the ball and knock her in,” Crouch said. “In the long run, (big-hitting teams) can make it happen a lot faster.”

Sophomore shortstop Misty Thompson is batting .300 with four home runs, 25 RBIs and 20 runs scored, and first baseman Milo is batting .513 with three home runs, 24 RBIs and 21 runs. And Milo hasn’t bunted all season.

Backing them up are catcher Leslie Haynes (.309, 19 runs), junior third baseman Jennifer Arzola (.329), center fielder Christy Journell (.367, 16 RBIs), freshman second baseman Amber Journell (.311), designated hitter Dawn Ponce (.250) and right fielder Randa Tabet (.215).

“We used to tone it down (at practice going into playoffs), but we’re going hard this week,” Crouch said. “My real good feeling is that I’m going to be prepared and if there’s an advantage to be had, we’re going to have it.

“We think we can play with anybody, but we have to make sure we hit the ball--we can’t take a break because we’re probably going to give up a run. Our pitching is not dominant. We field well, but the odds are we’re going to give up a run.”

And that could cause problems. Laguna Hills is expected to defeat the third-place team from the Sea View League, Newport Harbor (15-8), and eventually meet fourth-seeded Riverside Arlington and pitcher Tiffany Blood (7-3, 0.19 ERA). Crouch considers Blood and Sophie Contreras (18-2, 0.10, 17 shutouts) of No. 3 Alemany the best pitchers in the division.

Irvine (22-5) opens against Trabuco Hills (11-13), the team that presented the greatest Pacific Coast League challenge to Laguna Hills. The Vaqueros would probably meet Alemany in the semifinals.

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Simi Valley (21-1-1) is ranked third in the state in Division I and is the favorite, having lost only to No. 3 Camarillo and pitcher Laura Richardson (13-3, 0.38 ERA, 201 strikeouts in 135 innings). Both those teams--the first- and second-place teams from the Marmonte League--would probably have to defeat Orange County powers if their rematch is to take place.

South Coast League champion Mater Dei (17-3) is No. 4 and coming off an upset loss to San Clemente. No. 2 Marina (21-3) scored an emotional victory over Ocean View to win the Sunset League title.

Mater Dei Coach Karyn Rice said her team won’t be bothered by the loss: “(The players) weren’t devastated, they were more embarrassed. Maybe the loss sets us straight and gets us focused.” It also ended an 11-game winning streak.

Kennedy (23-2) finished the year ranked No. 1 in Orange County but wasn’t seeded. The Fighting Irish won’t argue with their placement, though; after a tough schedule, both in league and off-season, their record is better than Camarillo’s and would meet the Scorpions in the quarterfinals.

Eighteen of the 35 teams in the division are from Orange County.

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The state’s top-ranked team in Division II, Covina Charter Oak (24-0-1), is also the favorite. The No. 2 seeded team is Orange League-champion Brea-Olinda (18-8), which was unranked in Orange County and doesn’t get an easy game in the first round against Fullerton (14-14), which upset fourth-seeded La Habra (20-5) this season.

With six starters back from last year’s team that lost in the semifinals, La Habra--the Freeway League champion and ranked ninth in Orange County--would like to have been opposite Charter Oak. Glendale Hoover (21-1-1), ranked fifth in the state, is seeded third.

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County teams aren’t given much chance in Division V, though Cerritos Valley Christian (19-4), the winner of the Olympic League, is seeded second.

The favorite is two-time defending champion Thousand Oaks La Reina (22-5), the Tri-Valley champion.

Neither Whittier Christian (9-10) nor Brethren Christian (13-8) will face a seeded team until the quarterfinals. Southern California Christian (18-2) would meet Valley Christian, and Connelly (9-4) would meet No. 4 Paraclete (19-4) in the second round.

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Only two Orange County schools are in Division VI, and it would take quite a run for Academy League champion Liberty Christian (11-5) or Academy League runner-up St. Margaret’s (6-7) to win the title. Liberty Christian has the best chance but would meet the favorite, Templeton (20-3) in the semifinals. St. Margaret’s would get No. 2 Linfield (18-2) in the second round.