Baserunning Blunders Cost No. 3 Barons

The third-ranked Fountain Valley softball team lost to No. 5 Pacifica, 1-0, in the first round of the Woodbridge tournament because of one, or two, baserunning errors Wednesday at Harvard Park in Irvine.

Nobody will deny the Barons’ mental lapse in the seventh inning, but what happened at third in the sixth was seen differently by each side.

Trailing 1-0 in the seventh inning, Fountain Valley’s Christina Skaggs was tagged out by Pacifica third baseman Mallorie Lenn, who fielded a one-out grounder cleanly then retired Skaggs as she tried to advance to third.

The Barons still loaded the bases in the inning, but Mariner starter Jessica Marical forced Jenny Doezie to foul out to end the game.

Doezie’s at-bat could have taken on a different meaning if teammate Diana Rodriguez wasn’t called out for leaving third too soon on a would-be sacrifice fly by Tiffani Miller in the sixth.

Miller’s one-out, bases-loaded drive to left was deep enough to score Rodriguez, who didn’t even draw a throw to the plate. But the call ended the inning, instead of allowing the Barons to tie the score.

“She could have walked home,” said Pacifica Coach Rob Weil, who felt the correct call was made. “Kids get excited, kids get pumped up.”

Fountain Valley Coach Cary Baker agreed, but only with the walking part.

“There was only one problem baserunning today; The other was the wrong call and it cost us a run,” said Baker, who was coaching third at the time. “I was looking right at it. [Rodriguez] came back and was standing on the bag. She could have walked home. The ball was just lobbed back in.”

It was the second time in the game a runner was called out for leaving a base too early.

The victory was sweet for the Mariners (13-6-1), who have lost five one-run games this year.

“We don’t do anything easy,” Weil said.

In the seventh, Fountain Valley (14-6) loaded the bases with two outs on a fielder’s choice, a hit batter and a walk. But Marical got Doezie after she drilled two foul balls down the left-field line.

“I was a little nervous,” said Marical. “I didn’t have as much confidence as I did in innings one through six.”

Marical gave up four hits in the shutout to improve to 8-1, besting the Barons’ Natalie King (14-5), who pitched a two-hitter.

Pacifica jumped on King in the first inning when Jodie Lagaspi led off with a single and scored on a one-out single by Lenn. Lenn reached third, but was stranded.

King then settled down and faced the minimum in the final six innings.