Cerritos Cleans Up to Beat Marina

Steffany Stenglein and her Marina coaches never thought about pitching around Nichole Maddox.

Neither Maddox, the Cerritos cleanup hitter, nor her coaches could argue with the strategy.

But Maddox, batting .214, drove home both runs in a 2-0 victory over Marina on Saturday, giving the Dons the Warrior Classic title at Harvard Park.

Maddox had only six runs batted in entering the game, but had three of Cerritos’ five hits against Stenglein (14-2), who struck out nine.

Maddox singled up the middle in the bottom of the first inning, scoring Jessica van der Linden, who had tripled with two outs.

“Our defense is really good and we’re playing great as a team right now, so we shouldn’t be afraid to pitch to anybody,” Stenglein said.

Maddox made Stenglein pay physically in the sixth inning when, with two outs, she singled off Stenglein’s ankle, allowing Julie Hoshizaki to score from third, after a bunt single, passed ball and wild pitch.

It was enough for van der Linden (15-1), a Florida State-bound left-hander who has given up only three runs this season, one earned. She pitched a four-hitter, struck out 15, and in the sixth inning escaped a rare jam.

Nelsy Zaragoza and Carrie Hagen singled, but van der Linden struck out Bree Boyer--who was unable to get get down a sacrifice bunt attempt--got a forceout at third base and struck out Stenglein, Marina’s cleanup hitter.

“We haven’t faced a situation like that much this season,” said Cerritos Coach Sue Garrison, whose team is 18-1, ranked No. 1 in Southern Section Division II and is the defending section champion. “She gave up four hits this game and gave up only two [previously] in this tournament.”

Marina (17-5), ranked sixth in Division II and fourth in Orange County, got a leadoff single from Carrie Hagen in the first inning, but after a sacrifice bunt, van der Linden struck out the next eight batters.

Marina advanced by defeating ninth-ranked Aliso Niguel, 8-2, with four runs in fifth and sixth innings. Cerritos advanced by defeating Corona, 1-0, in eight innings.

Corona defeated Aliso Niguel in the third-place game, 5-2.

In consolation games:

No. 5 Pacifica 4, Saugus 3--Jodi Legaspi scored from second base on a seventh-inning bases-loaded throwing error in the consolation final.

Kennedy 1, Woodbridge 0--Pitcher Michelle Turner scored on Lorraine Geiger’s single for fifth-place Kennedy.

No. 3 Fountain Valley 4, Bellflower 0--Natalie King pitched her second one-hitter of the day. The other was in a 2-0 victory over Lakewood.

Woodbridge 5, El Toro 0--Brittany Crouch (15-6) and Breana Bohls combined on a no-hitter.