Marmonte Is Out of Its League

Marmonte League teams no longer reign supreme in the Thousand Oaks softball tournament. Not this year.

After knocking off the Marmonte League’s two best teams in the semifinals, Mater Dei High and Cerritos will slug it out for the title next Saturday.

For the past two years, the championship game was an all-Marmonte League matchup, with Thousand Oaks taking home the trophy last season.

Mater Dei’s pitching throttled Simi Valley, 4-0, and Cerritos edged Camarillo, 2-1, on Saturday, demoting the Marmonte’s finest to the third-place game.

Mater Dei, which dealt Hart a 10-0 loss in the first round, continued its dominance against Simi Valley.

Tia Bollinger (11-1), a sophomore, retired the first 20 batters, but lost her bid for a perfect game when Tracie Hall hit a bloop single into center field.

Bollinger finished with a one-hitter and struck out nine.

Mater Dei (21-2), ranked No. 1 in the nation by one publication, scored in the first inning on Marissa Young’s two-run single off Brittney Green, who allowed seven hits.

Camarillo (14-4), following a dramatic 2-1 nine-inning victory over Righetti in the first round, was derailed by Cerritos.

Cerritos jumped on the Scorpions in the first inning, parlaying four hits and an error into a 2-0 lead. Camarillo answered with a run on two hits in the second.

Camarillo’s Kathryn Nevard (6-3) allowed six hits and struck out four.

Cerritos’ Jamie O’Neal, a junior, pitched a four-hitter and struck out two.

Camarillo was flying high after pinning a loss on Righetti and California-bound pitcher Joceyln Forest (17-3).

Scoreless after seven, the international tie-breaker was installed in the eighth.

In the ninth, Righetti (18-4) scored on a run-scoring double by Keola Calderon. The Scorpions answered with a two-strike squeeze for a single by Ali Taverner to score Cindy Ball and tie it.

“That’s a gutsy call,” Righetti Coach Richard Cornejo said.

Three batters later with the bases loaded and two out, Alana Mendoza singled to win it.

Mendoza, a freshman filling in at shortstop for injured sister Jessica, broke her nose taking grounders in warmups before the Cerritos game and was taken to a hospital.

In other championship-bracket games:

Mater Dei 10, Hart 0--The Monarchs had 14 hits in a first-round game called after six innings because of the 10-run rule.

Young (10-1) was perfect through five innings and finished with a two-hitter and eight strikeouts.

Simi Valley 5, Newbury Park 0--Lori Tande (10-1) pitched a four-hitter and Hall had two hits to help the Pioneers win.

Green hit a two-run triple in the first inning for the Pioneers (20-3) and Cindy Gray hit a two-run triple in the second.

Cerritos 3, Thousand Oaks 2--The Lancers scored in the seventh on a double by Krista Cobb-Adams but lost a first-round game.

The Dons broke a 1-1 tie on RBI singles by Julia Seki and Jamie O’Neal in the sixth.

Michelle Spencer had two hits for the Lancers.

Newbury Park 6, Hart 1--Cindy Muran and Candace Roberts each had two hits to help the Panthers win.

Kamala Kiffe hit a three-run home run in the fourth to give Newbury Park (18-5) a 3-1 lead and Roberts hit a three-run triple in the fifth.

Lindsey Kontra had three hits, including a double and triple, for Hart (17-4).

Righetti 1, Thousand Oaks 0--Jenna Allen got the only hit as the Lancers (12-7-1) fell.

RUNNER-UP BRACKET

Chaminade 10, Moorpark 0--Maureen LeCocq pitched a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts for the Eagles (13-7-1) in a victory that went six innings because of the 10-run rule.

LeCocq, who has a 0.10 earned-run average, had a no-hitter for 5 1/3 innings until Meaghan Finnerty singled for Moorpark (14-4).

LeCocq had three hits and an RBI.

Chaminade 7, Valencia 0--LeCocq pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and hit two doubles to help the Eagles (12-7-1).