Quartz Hill Draws Victory from Booth

In comic books, the hero emerges from a phone booth.

At Quartz Hill High, heroics come from a Booth.

Jamie Booth again saved the day for the Rebels, hitting a run-scoring single to left field in the eighth inning to give the region’s top-ranked softball team a 2-1 victory over host Highland in a Golden League game.

Last season, it was a run-scoring hit by Booth that gave Quartz Hill an extra-inning victory over Jurupa Valley in the Southern Section Division II semifinals.

The Rebels went on to capture the section title.

“I like having the pressure on me,” said the junior third baseman and No. 3 hitter, who collected her 15th run batted in.

“[The pressure] makes you want it even more.”

No one wanted a victory more than Highland (10-6, 1-2 in league play), which fell to its nemesis for the fifth consecutive time.

It appeared the Bulldogs had the momentum in the sixth inning when Natalie Rawson led off with a home run to right-center field to tie the score, 1-1.

“I thought we had them,” Coach Glenda Potts of Highland said.

Quartz Hill (17-1, 3-0), seeking its fourth consecutive league championship, answered in the eighth with one-out singles by Andrea Cabriales and Kellie Cox, and a walk to Jodie Cox to load the bases.

Then Booth delivered.

The Rebels weren’t surprised when Booth drove in Cabriales on a 3-and-2 pitch.

“Jamie’s a real solid player,” co-Coach Coy Ray said. “She’s a good player to have up in that situation.”

Jodie Cox agreed.

“Jamie often comes through for us in those situations,” Cox said.

So does Cox (17-1), The Times’ player of the year in 1998, who battled a sore elbow to strike out nine and walk one in a four-hitter against a lineup that entered the game batting .364.

She outdueled sophomore right-hander Nichole Rawson (10-5), who struck out four and allowed six hits and one earned run.

Kellie Cox reached base on a first-inning error, went to second on a groundout and took third on the first of Olaya Salazar’s two hits before scoring on a wild pitch.

The Bulldogs, who lost to Quartz Hill, 2-0, on March 30 in the High Desert Classic final, attempted to disrupt Cox’s rhythm by constantly stepping out of the batter’s box in between pitches.

“It didn’t bother me,” Cox said. “I recognized what they were doing, but I’ve been in enough tough situations to handle it.”

Said Potts: “She noticed right away. She’s not stupid. But we’ll try any little thing to get at Jodie.”

The Rebels will play Lancaster (5-6, 3-0) on Thursday at Quartz Hill for first place in league.

Lancaster, which upset Highland, 2-1, last week, is 1-0-1 the last two seasons at Quartz Hill.