Oilers and El Toro Shine, but Fade as Day Wears On
Teams don’t get chances like this very often, to make such a bold statement in one day, to say, “Hey, look at us,” and put an exclamation on the end.
But two teams, Huntington Beach and El Toro, had that opportunity Saturday in the Woodbridge Classic at Harvard Park.
Both made people take notice, but neither punctuated the day the way they had hoped.
Huntington Beach got its chance against the top-ranked teams in the Southern Section’s division II and III rankings. The Oilers beat Woodbridge in the quarterfinals, 1-0, in 10 innings, but were beaten in the semifinals by Upland, 3-0.
Woodbridge is ranked fourth in Orange County and No. 1 in Division II. Upland is ranked No. 1 in Division III.
Huntington Beach (13-6) is ranked fifth in Orange County, but unranked in the section.
The Oilers play El Toro (13-8) at 2:15 p.m. Monday for third place. El Toro, unranked in any polls, had a similar opportunity against La Crescenta Crescenta Valley and La Mirada (ranked fourth and second in Division II).
La Mirada plays Upland in the title game at 4:30 p.m.
El Toro upset Crescenta Valley in the quarterfinals, 1-0, but fell to La Mirada in the semifinals, 7-2, in eight innings.
El Toro tied the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth when Jennifer Hamer walked and Anne Skidmore doubled.
But using the international tie-breaker with a runner placed at second base in the eighth inning, La Mirada (12-1-1) exploded for five runs on five hits, including back-to-back triples and a home run by Jamie Schwartzenbach. La Mirada had managed only five hits the previous seven innings against loser Julie Smith.
“We haven’t knocked anybody’s eyes out, but we’ve been steadily improving,” El Toro Coach Jim Daugherty said. “By the end of the tournament [Monday], I think everyone will know that we deserve to be ranked with some of the other teams in the county.”
El Toro beat Crescenta Valley in the quarterfinals on sophomore Susanne Guy’s five-hitter. Guy (6-0) didn’t allow a hit after the third inning, and Jennifer Morey’s run-scoring double in the sixth inning was ample offense.
Huntington Beach beat Woodbridge in 10 innings using the tiebreaker. With two outs and Nicole Kreipl at third base, Kristin Vardiman’s spinner in front of the pitching circle eluded Christy Robitaille, who failed several attempts to retrieve the ball, and Kreipl scored.
The Oilers won despite getting only two hits against Desiree Stickelmaier (who pitched eight innings) and Robitaille.
Huntington Beach followed with a flat performance against Upland (13-4). The Oilers surrendered two runs in the first inning and again managed only two hits--both leadoff singles--against Sarah Farnworth.
In the quarterfinals:
La Mirada 2, Pacifica 1 (9, tie-breaker)--In a quarterfinal, Toni Mascarenas homered for third-ranked Pacifica (16-3) in the top of the sixth inning, and La Mirada tied it in the bottom of the seventh. La Mirada pitcher Christy Martin singled up the middle in the bottom of the ninth to drive in Linda Carrillo with the winning run. Pacifica’s Amanda Freed (7-2) lost the second straight game after 21 consecutive victories.
In other tournament games:
Kennedy 6, Calvary Chapel 1--Adrianna Wilson homered and had two RBIs for Kennedy (9-4).
Long Beach Millikan 7, Trabuco Hills 0--Danielle Cassara pitched a perfect game for the Rams (13-3).
Mission Viejo 3, Calvary Chapel 2--Nicole Marian’s single in the fifth inning drove in pinch runner Katie Keeler with the go-ahead run for Mission Viejo (6-9).
San Clemente 3, La Habra 2 (8)--Stephanie Swenson led off the eighth inning with a triple and scored on a fly ball to center field with the eventual game-winner.