Pacifica’s Commitment Makes a Big Difference
The small margin for error in softball finally caught up with Garden Grove Pacifica, which had spent the last few weeks in the No. 1 spot of The Times’ rankings.
After 14 games, Pacifica finally lost, as Brittany Weil lost a nine-inning pitcher’s duel, 1-0, to Corona Santiago’s Taryne Mowatt in the Foothill tournament championship.
It won’t be the last we’ve heard of Pacifica though.
“This is a pretty special team,” said Coach Rob Weil, whose Mariners won section titles from 1997 to 1999, including the mythical national championship in Amanda Freed’s last season, 1998. “This team is hard to explain. It has so many great athletes, they don’t realize how good they are, that they are now the Amanda Freeds and Toni Mascarenases and Toria Aueluas.
“There’s no negative feedback or attitudes. They put runs on the board, they play defense. They all know what they have to do.”
They are led by the coach’s daughter, a sophomore pitcher, UCLA-bound shortstop Jodie Legaspi and Nebraska-bound catcher Jamie Waldecker.
Waldecker passed on the chance to be only the second girl in school history to compete in the Orange County all-star basketball game on Saturday.
“I told them I can’t make it because my priority is softball,” said Waldecker, who was a 5-8 post player. “I really wanted to play because I never worked so hard, and because Pacifica isn’t really known for its basketball.”
Even though he would have allowed her to go to the basketball game -- instead of playing the showdown with Santiago -- Weil said that’s the kind of selfless attitude that has Pacifica so focused.
Waldecker says simply, “There are no superstar egos. This is a real positive environment. We don’t have any prima donnas.”
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One of the more amazing things about Mowatt’s performance this season is the sophomore is pitching every inning of every game for Santiago.
She pitched all nine innings against Pacifica in the championship of the Foothill tournament, finishing with a two-hitter and 13 strikeouts -- and that came after a no-hitter with 18 strikeouts against Riverside King a few hours earlier.
“It gets tiring, but the adrenaline keeps me going,” Mowatt said. “It’s fun.”
Her coach, John Perez, said she gets stronger the more she pitches.
Last week, she gave up three hits and had 61 strikeouts in 30 innings in victories over Jurupa Valley, Corona Centennial, Riverside King and Pacifica.
Only once, in the season-opener against Riverside North -- has Mowatt (13-1) given up more than two hits, and in that game she gave up three and struck out 16 in a 9-1 victory.
She has two no-hitters, six one-hitters and five two-hitters. She says it’s becoming a lot easier to pitch as her team’s offense has improved.
“We’re young, but our offense is a lot better than last year,” Mowatt said, pointing in particular to sophomore left fielder Tiffany Wright -- who had the game-winning single against Pacifica in the ninth inning -- freshman shortstop Britney Moore, sophomore designated hitter Crystal Gutierrez and senior third baseman Sarah Shamblin.
“I feel more comfortable knowing we can score.”
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More than 300 people saw the 6 p.m. first pitch of the Thousand Oaks-Newbury Park game last week, but few were there 4 1/2 hours and 18 innings later when everyone decided to call it a night.
Danielle Ellement of Newbury Park and Mandy Kilionski of Thousand Oaks became only the third pair of pitchers in state history to each strike out at least 27 batters in the same game, and the first in which both finished with shutouts after their marathon.
Kilionski struck out 27, giving up 12 hits and walking one. Ellement, originally believed to have struck out 27, actually had 28 when Coach Lynn Baum realized a fouled bunt attempt on a third strike had gone unnoticed. Ellement gave up 10 hits and walked four. Both threw more than 300 pitches and neither had much left two days later when they started games in Marmonte League losses.
Cerritos Gahr’s DeDe Weimann had 53 strikeouts and Lakewood St. Joseph’s Lisa Fernandez had 48 in a 1986 Southern Section semifinal game that went 29 innings and Placentia Valencia’s Michele Granger had 40 and La Mirada’s Dena Mullins had 28 in a 1988 playoff game that went 25 innings.
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The Ivy League is tough, but Moreno Valley has served notice that it is the team to beat after defeating the top three teams from last season: Riverside Poly, Moreno Valley Valley View and Canyon Springs.
“They have a freshman pitcher [Charlotte Morgan] who has surprised some people,” said Canyon Springs Coach Janine Monahan. “They’re a good team.”
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Lauren Greer just completed her first week with the Santa Ana Mater Dei softball team after finishing up with the Southern Section Division II-A champion basketball team.
Greer had no problem with the transition. The left-handed left fielder went seven for nine with four home runs, two doubles and 11 runs batted in. She also had two stolen bases and two walks.