El Camino Real Moves Ahead in a Flash, 9-2

For four innings of its 9-2 victory over Chatsworth High in the City Section 4-A softball quarterfinals Thursday, El Camino Real was having flashbacks of its semifinal loss to Granada Hills last year.

The Conquistadores (15-4) left three runners in scoring position through four innings and had Tami Jones gunned down at home plate by Chancellor center fielder Kristy Faciane in the first.

But the Conquistadores sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth and took a 7-1 lead on five runs and five hits, keyed by Ramona Shelburne and Lisa Brende, who each had two-run singles.

El Camino Real, which has won seven section championships in 11 seasons, will play San Pedro, a 4-3 winner over Granada Hills, in the semifinals Tuesday at South Gate Park.

El Camino Real had two runners thrown out at the plate and left six on base in last year’s 1-0 loss to Granada Hills.

“We definitely did not want a repeat of the Granada game last year,” Shelburne said. “[Chatsworth is] a scrappy little team and we knew we had to put them away.”

Shelburne, who reached base safely in all four of her at-bats, tripled home Ashley Redlin in the sixth for her third run batted in.

Lisa Brende had two hits and two RBIs for the Conquistadores.

The Chancellors (10-5) put runners on base in every inning except the third, but El Camino Real’s Tami Jones (11-2) escaped virtually unharmed with the help of error-free defensive play.

Chatsworth pitcher Parisa Plant (2-4) led off the sixth with a monster home run to center field that pulled her team to within 7-2, but that’s as close as the Chancellors would get.

The Chancellors remained upbeat, chasing each other around the field after the game and dumping a cooler of ice water on Coach Andrea Rochetti.

“We’re not the type to hang our heads,” Rochetti said. “We’re just glad we made it to the quarterfinals.”