Hart Leaves Highland With Rundown Feeling After One-Run Victory

Catcher Ashlie D’Errico of Highland High has seen enough of Hart--and its junior varsity--for a while.

“I’m ready to move on to a different team . . . so maybe we can win,” said D’Errico, with a laugh.

Hart’s domination of Highland continued Saturday when the Indians parlayed a hit and three errors into two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 5-4 victory in the championship game of the Hart tournament at Central Park in Valencia.

It was Hart’s second one-run victory over Highland in five days. The Indians defeated Highland, 4-3, in a nonleague game Tuesday.

The Bulldogs also lost to Hart’s junior varsity, 4-3, in a pool play game of this tournament March 4.

“I feel like we’ve played them 10 times already,” Coach Kathy Giordano of Hart said.

This time, for the first time all season, Hart (6-0) had to play catch-up.

Highland (2-2), which defeated Harvard-Westlake, 6-0, in semifinal, scored in the first on D’Errico’s sacrifice fly.

Highland ace Nicole Rawson allowed only two hits in the first four innings, but Hart solved the right-hander in the fifth, rapping out three singles to take a 2-1 lead.

The Indians, who defeated Westlake, 1-0, in an eight-inning semifinal game, added a run in sixth.

But Highland rallied to tie it, 3-3, in the seventh on the strength of a two-out fielding error.

An inning later, the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead, 4-3, when Natalie Rawson scored on Hart’s fourth error of the game. With Rawson on first and two out, Keri Pulcifer singled to right field and Rawson scored when the ball got past Casey Pickard.

Lindsey Kontra (2-0), who allowed six hits and struck out 10, led off Hart’s half of the inning with a sharp single to left. She scored from third when shortstop Natalie Rawson fielded Lorian Jenkins’ ground ball only to throw a one-hopper to catcher D’Errico, who couldn’t make the play.

Two batters later with two out, Natalie Rawson mishandled Nicole Delfino’s grounder and Jenkins scored the winning run.

In the third-place game:

Harvard-Westlake 3, Westlake 1--Anna Russell (2-0) allowed four hits and struck out seven over six innings, and Elena Ferrero had three hits and drove in a run for the Wolverines (3-1).

In semifinals:

Hart 1, Westlake 0--In a rematch of the final last year won by Westlake, Sara Dean hit a run-scoring single in the eighth.

Dean, the tournament’s most valuable player, went three for four.

Codie Richard of Westlake was stranded at third in the bottom of eighth after a sacrifice and two fly outs.

Westlake ace Erin Voeltz allowed five hits and struck out nine.

Amanda Fortune of Hart pitched a three-hitter and struck out four.

Highland 6, Harvard-Westlake 0--Ashlie D’Errico went four for four with a double and a triple and scored two runs for the Bulldogs.

Nicole Rawson pitched a three-hitter for Highland.