Thousand Oaks’ Fast Work Leaves Quartz Hill Behind

There was nothing extraordinary about Thousand Oaks High’s game plan against Jodie Cox and Quartz Hill on Tuesday.

“We knew we weren’t going to overpower her,” Coach Gary Walin of Thousand Oaks said. “We just wanted to put the ball in play and have our speed work for us.”

It worked wonders. Again.

Thousand Oaks scored two of its first three runs on squeeze plays in the second inning and went on to defeat top-seeded Quartz Hill, 6-3, in a second-round game of the Southern Section Division I softball playoffs at Thousand Oaks Community Park.

Thousand Oaks (22-8), which had seven hits against Cox (23-2), was helped by a sloppy Quartz Hill defense that seemed bothered by the Lancers’ speed.

“Some of the mental mistakes and errors killed us,” co-Coach Coy Ray said. “We didn’t have the mental sharpness.”

No wonder. Quartz Hill (25-2), which won 25 consecutive games after a 5-0 loss to Westlake in its opener, was coming off a 3-1 victory over Glendora in 19 innings in the first round. The game was played over two days, Friday and Monday.

Cox’s two home runs rescued the Rebels against Glendora.

But the home run she hit against Thousand Oaks in the fifth, a two-run missile to right, could only get the Rebels to within 5-3.

Cox finished her career with 29 home runs, one shy of the section record held by Geney Orris of Brea Olinda, who hit 30 from 1995-98.

Thousand Oaks scored three runs in the second on one hit and an error.

Quartz Hill, 1998 Division II champion, responded with a run in the third. Chelsey Hume, who led off with a single, scored on Cox’s double to right-center field.

But the Lancers came back in their half of the inning on Brandi Cope’s two-run single for a 5-1 lead.