PREP SOFTBALL ROUNDUP : Foothill Avenges Loss by Beating Marina

Foothill waited nine months to settle a score with Marina. And the Knights took advantage of the first chance they got.

Foothill avenged a loss to Marina in last season’s Division I championship game by knocking off the top-ranked Vikings, 6-2, Thursday in the championship game of the Laguna Hills Tournament at Alicia Park in Mission Viejo.

“We certainly would like to have (last year’s game) back, but this is nice,” Foothill Coach Joe Gonzalez said.

The Knights, ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls, took advantage of nine Marina errors and played solid defense behind starting pitcher Marie Gieron.

Foothill (7-0) took a first-inning lead when Marina committed five errors, enabling three unearned runs to score.

“We panicked,” Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. “We tried to push and we did not play well.”

The Knights struck for two more in the second on tournament offensive MVP Michelle Churnock’s two-run double to right center.

Gieron (5-0) went the distance, giving up four hits and two unearned runs. She finished the game without a strikeout, relying entirely on her fielders.

“I have faith in our defense,” Gieron said. “I put my pitches where they should be and let them hit it on the ground.”

Marina (3-1) started the game without its best pitcher, Marcy Crouch, on the mound. Luth said Crouch, who entered the game in the third inning, is still catching up after participating in the Vikings’ third consecutive Division I girls’ soccer championship earlier this month.

Crouch entered in the third inning and finished with six strikeouts.