Boron Is Finally Stopped at Corner

Boron High’s undefeated record in 24 games heading into the Southern Section Division VI championship game Saturday might have intimidated some opponents, but not defending champion Cornerstone Christian.

“My girls never gave it a thought,” Coach Mike Monzo said. “The only thing we thought about was making it 24-1.”

It took the Eagles only 1 hour 17 minutes to get it done, as they claimed their second consecutive Division VI title with a 4-0 victory over Boron at Mayfair Park.

“It just shows that records aren’t everything,” said ace Julia Hartnell (19-6) of Cornerstone Christian, who pitched a two-hitter and struck out eight on just 70 pitches.

The Eagles (20-6) were undaunted by Jennifer Jenkins (24-1) of Boron, who had struck out 192 in 141 innings and given up only four earned runs.

“She was good [but] I expected this girl to be like Julia times 10,” said sophomore shortstop Tiffanie Monzo, who went two for three and scored the Eagles’ first run.

Cornerstone Christian scored in the fourth and fifth innings.

In the fourth, the Eagles benefited from aggressive baserunning.

With runners at second and third and none out, Alizabeth Johnston was thrown out at the plate by third baseman Coni Nelson on Jamie Wayne’s ground ball.

Wayne continued to second but was thrown out by catcher Shena Green. Monzo, on second when the play began, broke for home and scored with a nifty head-first, reach-around slide.

“That play was tailor-made for that situation,” Mike Monzo said. “We put pressure on their defense to make perfect plays.”

An inning later, the Eagles parlayed two hits and three Boron errors into three unearned runs.

Boron, which outscored opponents, 266-19, before Saturday, hadn’t scored fewer than three runs in a game this season.

But the Bobcats hadn’t seen a pitcher like Hartnell, who was perfect through four innings and gave up singles in the sixth and seventh.