Mobley Is Well-Positioned for No. 1 Foothill
A big reason for Foothill’s success has been the play of junior Erin Mobley. An outfielder her first two seasons, Mobley moved to second base this season and won over Coach Joe Gonzalez despite his doubts.
“We had so many outfielders, we wanted to see if we could take one and have her play second base,” Gonzalez said. “I couldn’t be happier. She’s playing second base because of her, not because of anything else. I went in thinking she couldn’t do it.”
Mobley has been taking ground balls the last 1 1/2 years playing for Gordon’s Panthers. “Their philosophy is that you should be able to play more than one position,” Mobley said. “I had no idea how well I was going to be able to adjust to it. I’m more focused, it helps my confidence, and that helps my offense. It added a level to the game I really didn’t expect.
“My heart will always belong to the outfield, but I love the challenge and was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed playing second base.”
Mobley has three errors in 80 chances, is batting .389 with 19 stolen bases, has 12 RBIs and a team-high .597 slugging average. A leadoff batter her freshman year, she now bats sixth for the county’s top-ranked team.
A classic Mobley moment from this season took place at the Tournament of Champions against Phoenix Sahuaro. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, Mobley missed a one-strike squeeze bunt and the runner was tagged out. The next pitch, she homered. Foothill won in 10 innings. “I don’t think I’ll ever have a moment as good as that one,” she said.
IN YOUR FACE
Sophia Reynolds’ three-run homer in the 14th inning gave Troy a 4-1 win over Sonora and forced a three-way tie for first place in the Freeway League.
“I’ve been waiting all season for this,” Reynolds, a senior, said of her first home run. “I can hit them all the time in practice [over the fence at Troy], but they don’t mean anything.”
The homer was also big for another reason. Reynolds broke her nose before league play began when she fouled off a rise ball into her face.
“This was my first game without the facemask,” Reynolds said Thursday. “It was a personal victory; I hated wearing that thing.”
AROUND THE BASES
* Freshman Allison Lewis performed like a star last week as Northwood clinched its first league title in any sport. Lewis struck out 33 batters in two games--16 in a 3-1 win over Costa Mesa on Thursday to deliver the title outright, and 17 in a 7-0 win over Corona del Mar two days earlier.
* First baseman Darcey Brown scored the only run in Los Alamitos’ 1-0 win over Edison, drove in the only run in a 1-0 win over sixth-ranked Fountain Valley on a squeeze bunt, and also had three RBIs in a 5-0 win over fourth-ranked Rosary. The Griffins have won 10 of their last 12.
“Our defense, hitting and pitching are coming together at the right time,” first-year Coach Renee Bergeron said. “They’re attacking every team because they know every game is important.”
* Carrie Wisen was stuck with the loss to Troy, but the Sonora pitcher turned in an awesome relief performance in the fourth inning of Thursday’s 4-1 defeat. Wisen entered with the bases loaded and none out, and was out of the inning five pitches later--on two popups and a strikeout.
In that same game, Lindsey Knoff threw only 130 pitches in 14 innings. She never threw more than 14 pitches in any inning, and she threw fewer than 10 pitches on eight occasions.
LOOKING AHEAD
Capistrano Valley Christian (8-0) hosts second-place Downey Calvary Chapel (7-1) on Wednesday to determine the Academy League champion.
For Empire favorite Kennedy (5-3) to win a title share, it must beat Cypress (6-2) today; El Dorado (6-2) must also lose, and faces Loara (4-4) on Thursday.
Sunny Hills, Sonora and Troy, all 6-2, are vying for the Freeway League title. Sunny Hills faces Sonora on Thursday. Troy can win its first league title in 20 years with two victories.
Rancho Alamitos (9-1) must beat Pacifica (10-0) today to win the Garden Grove title.
The Olympic League will be decided today when Calvary Chapel (9-0) plays at Orange Lutheran (7-1).
Woodbridge (4-2), which has won 16 consecutive league titles, must win twice to keep the streak alive, against first-place Aliso Niguel (5-1) on Wednesday and rival Irvine (3-3) Thursday.
Marina (6-2) can earn a share of the Sunset title if it can beat 10th-ranked Esperanza (3-5) today and first-place Los Alamitos (7-1) on Thursday.
League titles in the Century (Foothill), Golden West (Tustin), Pacific Coast (Northwood) and South Coast (Trabuco Hills) have been decided.
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