SUNSET LEAGUE SOFTBALL ROUNDUP : Errors Plague Teams as Marina Beats Ocean View

It should have been a pitchers’ duel, an intense drama played out over seven innings--or more.

It should have been one of the best games of the year.

It should have been . . . different.

Instead, two of the county’s best teams played a comedy of errors behind two of the county’s best pitchers Friday at Marina High, and the Vikings yukked up a 5-2 victory over sixth-ranked Ocean View.

Second-ranked Marina (15-2, 7-1) retained its hold on first place in the Sunset League and the Seahawks (11-5, 4-3) made a concession speech afterward.

Neither coach could fathom what they saw after the two teams combined for four errors apiece and seven unearned runs.

“We haven’t played this poorly, defensively, all year long,” Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. “I don’t ever remember us making four errors. Defensively, I couldn’t believe it.”

And Ocean View--well, its hallmark is defense.

“I don’t think we can win the league title now,” Ocean View Coach John Sansone said. “At this point, we’re rooting for Marina--they’re our ally.”

The Vikings are Ocean View’s new best friends because three Sunset League teams will reach the playoffs and the Seahawks trail Marina, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley. All have been ranked among the county’s top 10.

Marina pitcher Marcy Crouch (11-2, seven hits, six strikeouts) benefited from four unearned runs in the third inning against Ocean View’s Kathy Ponce (11-4, five strikeouts).

Ponce allowed only four hits, but consecutive one-out errors and singles by Faith Fuata and Heather Williams scored two runs. After a walk and a fielder’s choice, another error made it 4-0.

Ocean View scored twice in the fifth inning. After a pair of errors, the Seahawks got a run-scoring single from Mookie Hatcher and an RBI grounder from Janee Sansone.

Marina scored another run in the bottom of the fifth--Fuata’s second single and a two-out error.

“I thought it would be a one-run game,” said Ponce, who was pitching for the first time in two days after stepping in a gopher hole at practice. “I didn’t expect it to end up like this.”

In other league games:

Huntington Beach 5, Edison 0--Stefanie Noffsinger, on the mound for the first time since April 1 when a batted ball fractured her right eye socket, pitched a no-hitter for the seventh-ranked Oilers (12-6, 6-2). She struck out 13, including the final eight, giving her 49 in 33 2/3 innings, and hasn’t allowed an earned run. She is wearing a hockey helmet with a face shield while she pitches.

Rosary 12, Santa Ana 1 (5, mercy)--Nicola Walsh pitched a one-hitter, struck out 10, had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for visiting Rosary (11-5, 4-4). Anna Villalpando had two hits, including her second home run, and three RBIs.