Thousand Oaks Wraps Gloves Around Victory

This week was so important to the Thousand Oaks High softball team, it has a name.

“This was get-the-job-done week,” Coach Gary Walin said. “I didn’t care how we did it, just so long as we got the job done.”

The Lancers answered Walin’s order Thursday with another spectacular, business-as-usual defensive effort to beat Westlake, 1-0, and clinch a share of the Marmonte League title.

Thousand Oaks (12-2-1, 9-0 in league play), top-ranked in the region by The Times, put a three-game lead between itself and the rest of the Marmonte pack with three games to play.

“They’ve got it locked up,” Westlake Coach Darwin Tolzin said.

Second-place Westlake (9-6, 6-3) put up a good fight in its quest to keep the league race alive, but couldn’t catch a break against the Lancers’ big-play defense.

“Other than the score, we won,” Tolzin said. “We hit the ball hard enough to win the ballgame.”

Thousand Oaks, which has made only 10 errors in 15 games, scored in the fourth.

Sheridan Fowler singled, went to second on a sacrifice by Jenni Perez and scored on an opposite-field double by Shawna Lane.

The Warriors threatened to score in the third and fifth, but were turned away by not-so-routine defensive efforts.

In the third, Shannon Grover singled and advanced to second on Annie Domenic’s sacrifice. Pitcher Nicole Angelo made a basket catch of Tiffany Meadows’ pop-up a few feet in front of the plate. Then second baseman Michelle Spencer stabbed Kaitlyn Wilson’s chopper up the middle, made a quick pivot and threw her out at first to end the inning.

But the defensive play of the game came in the fifth on a catch by left fielder Joey McKearn.

Julie Zelman led off with a double to center. Shannon Grover followed with a liner that was gloved by third baseman Fowler.

Domenic pounded a drive to left field. McKearn, running full speed toward the fence, snatched the ball for the second out.

“I thought that one was going over my head,” McKearn said.

To end the inning, shortstop Jenny Cochran charged a high chopper by Meadows, gloved it on a short hop and fired to first on the run.

Angelo (12-1), who struck out nine in the Lancers’ first meeting against Westlake, allowed four hits, but struck out none.

“I wasn’t hitting my spots [in warmups] and I told my defense, ‘I don’t have my best stuff today,’ ” Angelo said. “Our defense was so good. I’m so thankful.”

Erin Voeltz (9-5) of Westlake allowed five hits and struck out seven.