Newbury Park Struck by Funk

Although first-year Coach Lynn Baum isn’t ready to admit it, make no mistake, it’s panic time for the Newbury Park High softball team.

“We’re not where I’d like us to be, but that’s life in the big city,” Baum said.

Or in the Marmonte League.

Westlake put the defending co-league champion Panthers in a deeper funk Tuesday with a 3-1 victory in a key game for Newbury Park at Borchard Park.

After Newbury Park’s Oli Keohohou stole home to tie it, 1-1, in the sixth, Angela Funk ripped a towering two-out, two-run triple to left in the seventh to provide the margin of victory for the second-place Warriors (7-4, 4-1 in league play).

It was the kind of battle Westlake Coach Darwin Tolzin would have cherished, but he is in South Dakota this week attending funeral services for his father-in-law.

“He’ll be on pins and needles waiting [to find out the outcome],” said assistant Darryl Joynt minutes before calling Tolzin on his cellular phone.

For Newbury Park (8-3, 2-3), which is struggling in league play, the news isn’t quite so good.

The Panthers, with league losses to Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Westlake, will probably need to win every game in the second round to earn a playoff berth.

“I told them not to worry about the playoffs. [We need to] work on our fundamentals and work on our hitting and see what happens,” Baum said.

Westlake ace Erin Voeltz (7-3), who retired 11 batters in order in a stretch from the first through fifth innings, threw a three-hitter, struck out 11 and walked one.

Georgia Tech-bound Voeltz had wonderful support offensively as the Warriors threatened early and often.

Westlake reached base in every inning but the first and finally scored in the sixth when an errant throw by catcher Amber Mastrioanni on a pick-off attempt at third allowed pinch-runner Shannon Grover to score.

The Panthers answered in their half of the inning. Keohohou, who struck out in her first two at-bats, singled up the middle with one out. Kamala Kiffe followed with a line drive that got by right fielder Rachel Murray and allowed Keohohou to take third and Kiffe to reach second.

After a groundout for the second out, Keohohou, the most feared player in Ventura County, stole home to tie it, 1-1.

“Oli called it,” Baum said. “She said, ‘I’m going to do a delayed steal.’ And I said, ‘Go for it.’ ”

Westlake with two outs in the seventh. Katie Reifman reached on an error and Katie Kearns walked, setting the stage for Funk.

It was Funk’s third hit of thegame.

“She’s been hitting the ball like that all year long so we were waiting for her to break out,” Joynt said.

“That was definitely a bomb.”