Barons Top Kennedy in Final

Christina Skaggs scored the winning run on a throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Jackie Brown out-dueled Michelle Turner to help third-ranked Fountain Valley beat No. 5 Kennedy, 1-0, Saturday in the championship game of the Woodbridge softball tournament at Barber Park in Irvine.

Both coaches agreed to use the international tiebreaker rule to start the ninth.

With Skaggs on second in the bottom of the inning, Turner struck out Kristin Crowder and induced Brown to hit a grounder to short. On the throw to first, Skaggs broke for third, and Kennedy first baseman Heidi Chambers threw the ball past third baseman Jennifer McCard trying to get Skaggs, who raced home on the error to score the winning run. It was the Barons’ 12th consecutive victory.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Brown said. “We just kept fighting.”

Brown limited the Irish to two hits in nine innings, striking out six and walking two.

Turner was equally good, striking out 10, walking none and limiting the Barons (19-5) to five hits in 8 2/3 innings.

In the top of the ninth, Kennedy had runners on first and second with two outs when Brooke Porter hit a grounder to shortstop Kathryn Richards.

Baron second baseman Kirin Kumar dropped the flip from Richards and Kennedy’s Breanne Sabol, who was on second, tried to score. But Kumar threw home, where Sabol was tagged out in a collision with catcher Brooke Porter, keeping the game scoreless.