Woodbridge Dominates

Woodbridge’s Christy Robitaille hasn’t lost to El Toro since the first game she pitched against the Chargers as a freshman.

Now a junior, Robitaille’s mastery over El Toro batters reached its zenith on Monday. She pitched a no-hitter, struck out 13 and anchored third-ranked Woodbridge’s 11th victory in a row, 7-0, over fifth-ranked El Toro (15-4-1) at Harvard Park.

Woodbridge (16-2) won its Easter Classic title for the first time since 1992 and defeated one of the county’s hottest pitchers.

Woodbridge sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run third inning against El Toro’s Suzanne Guy (12-3), who had given up only three unearned runs in the past 83 innings. All five runs were earned. Guy, who had the county’s lowest earned-run average for anyone with more than 30 innings, saw her ERA balloon from 0.08 to 0.43.

Robitaille (12-2, 0.42) struck out one in the first and another in the second, but got tougher after she got the lead; 11 of the next 15 outs were strikeouts. Woodbridge made three errors behind her.

“Every game I see her pitch against us, I have more respect for her,” El Toro Coach Jim Daugherty said. “We just can’t seem to learn how to beat Woodbridge. . . . Every game she throws against us is a good game.”

El Toro, which lost to Woodbridge, 1-0, in the semifinals of the Fullerton Tribe Classic last month, will get another shot at Robitaille--the tournament most valuable player--in two Sea View League games, the first on April 16.

Woodbridge’s five-run third began with No. 9 hitter Tracy Alcaraz’s single. But a mental error on Natasha Watley’s sacrifice bunt--no one was covering first base--put the Chargers in a hole. Lisa Watanabe advanced both runners with a sacrifice and Ashley Boone was intentionally walked. Lizzy Lemire (three hits, two RBIs) and Nichole Thompson (three hits, two RBIs) had run-scoring singles. After a strikeout, Lindsey Cohan had an RBI single and Kristy Clark’s line single to center field scored two.

“That bunt put them in trouble,” said Woodbridge Coach Alan Dugard, whose team outscored five tournament opponents, 34-2.

Daugherty said it may not have changed the complexion of the game: “I don’t know if it would have mattered. We didn’t come to compete very well.”

Robitaille did, however.

“I like pitching in situations that are difficult,” she said, “like against the tough teams.”