Edison softball beats Marina to earn Sunset League’s No. 3 playoff berth

For the second straight year, the Edison and Marina high school softball teams played an extra game to determine the Sunset League’s third automatic entry into the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

After losing last season’s play-in game against the Vikings, the Chargers looked for some revenge on Wednesday. And they got it.

Thanks to a strong performance by pitcher Talia Hannappel, Edison got payback in a 9-1 victory over the Vikings at Fountain Valley High.

The victory clinched third place for the Chargers (15-10 overall), sending them to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs, while Marina (14-13) will have to wait and see if it can get in as an at-large team. The section will release the playoff pairings on Monday.

Edison took a 2-0 lead on the Vikings in the first inning. Bella Espinoza drove in a run with a triple and Hailie Benko had a run-scoring double.

The run support in the first inning was all Hannappel needed. She had a no-hitter going through five innings.

“My team really stepped up behind me,” Hannappel said. “Our bottom half of the lineup produces a lot. They may have not scored as many runs, but they got on base when we needed them to. They got the small things when we needed them to. The top of the lineup just drove them in. We all did it together. This is a pretty solid lineup.”

With Hannappel keeping Marina at bay, the Chargers added another three runs in the second and third innings. Bella Martinez went three for four with a double and four runs batted in.

“We worked together as a team,” Martinez said. “This team is a big family and we never stop picking each other up while finding ways to keep winning.”

Hannappel’s no-hitter came to an end in the top of the sixth inning on a bunt single by Paige Shafer. She would give up two more hits in the next inning, including an RBI single to Briana Gonzalez.

Hannappel threw six innings while striking out three and walking three. Jenna Bloom struck out three to close out the game for the Chargers.

“The energy was good,” Edison coach Melissa Roth said. “Everybody was off the bench, [from] start to finish. That’s all I asked for today. We played every inning and we competed every inning. I feel like they came out here and did that.”

Edison’s Serena Starks went three for four with a double and an RBI. Espinoza went three for four and Benko went two for four.

Jennifer Swartz got a double in the seventh inning for Marina. Emily Rush threw six innings.

The Vikings are eligible for an at-large playoff berth because they finished with an overall record of .500 or better. A year ago, Edison made the playoffs as an at-large team.

“We have to look forward for our at-large,” Marina coach Mandee Farish said. “We have to be ready because [the season] is not over yet. We have a good record going into the end of the season. We just have to keep practicing going forward and go from there.”

MANNY ALVAREZ is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @MAlvarez02