La Habra Proves to Fullerton Things Have Changed

Maybe Fullerton didn’t think it could get any worse than its loss earlier this week to Sunny Hills, but the Indians might have reached rock bottom--they hope so, anyway--on Thursday.

The two-time defending Freeway League softball champions were beaten by La Habra, 14-0. Threepeat? Not likely.

The visiting Indians fell to 6-15, 1-3 in league, and are hoping to make the playoffs. First-place La Habra (13-8, 4-0) beat Fullerton for the first time in three years, ending a five-game losing streak to pitcher Angie Fancuberta.

The Highlanders pounded Fancuberta--last year’s league most valuable player--for 13 runs and eight hits, including three triples and a home run, in four innings.

La Habra Coach Sue Briquelet, in her fifth year, said she couldn’t recall any of her teams hitting the ball as hard and deep as the Highlanders did.

“It was like boom after boom after boom,” she said.

The clincher? Jenny Topping, batting .611, didn’t get a hit, though she scored two runs--along with Shelley Salas, Andrea Russell (homer, two RBIs) and Christina Gibbons (three hits, triple, two RBIs). Charlene Oblea scored three runs and had two hits, including a run-scoring triple in La Habra’s 10-run second inning.

Gibbons (7-2) also was the winning pitcher; she surrendered only two hits, both to Rachel Gray.

Fancuberta (3-4), bothered by tendinitis in her knee that kept her out until a few weeks ago, walked four and didn’t strike out anyone.

“Pitching and defense was our strength in the past and now they’re our weaknesses,” Fullerton Coach Scott Weber said. “Our batting average is a little better than it has been in the past, but even if we didn’t play well [in the past], we’d win 1-0.

“As bad as it looks, Angie’s pitching is getting a little better each game. We’re frustrated, but we still feel we can make the playoffs.”