CV hitting, running on all cylinders

Erik Boal

ROSEMEAD -- Dan Berry carries 17 players on his Crescenta Valley High

softball roster.

But if his nine or 10 everyday starters -- depending on whether the

17th-year coach chooses to utilize the designated hitter -- continue to

play the way they did during the 11th annual Arroyo Softball Tournament,

the rest of the Falcons may be hard-pressed to find themselves a spot in

the order.

After a little tinkering with his lineup following a March 11

opening-round victory against Arroyo, Berry’s squad began to find its

rhythm offensively and Saturday was no exception.

CV collected nine hits -- one in every inning but the second -- and

added four insurance runs in the final two innings in support of Kris

Franks’ complete-game effort as it posted a 7-1 win against Glendora St.

Lucy’s in the tournament’s fifth-place game at Whittier Narrows Park.

“If they keep playing the way they’re playing, it’ll be kind of hard

to crack the order,” said Berry, whose squad tallied 30 hits and scored

22 runs in four tournament games.

“This is a mature team and they want people to know that they can play

ball.

“They want to make sure that it’s not a one-man dog-and-pony show like

people said it was last year. This shows that they’ve been working hard

and that they believe in themselves.”

Leading the Falcons’ blue-collar effort was senior Melanie McCauley,

who continued her hitting terror during the final three games of the

tournament by going two for three with a sacrifice, a run scored and a

run batted in.

After being moved from the No. 3 to the No. 2 spot in the order,

McCauley responded by going seven for 10 to earn all-tournament honors,

and Tammy LaBreche -- who was shifted from the No. 2 spot to No. 9 --

strengthened the bottom of the lineup by going three for three with two

runs scored and an RBI.

“We’re a quarter of the way through the season and they’re reaching a

stride where they all feel comfortable,” said Berry, whose squad scored

five of its runs with two outs.

“We’ve spent tons of time on hitting and the production we’re getting

from these girls is what they’ve come to expect from themselves.”

Kirsten Whitt gave CV (6-1) a 2-0 lead in the third with a two-out,

two-run single to right-center, scoring LaBreche and McCauley.

After Franks surrendered two of her four hits in the bottom of the

inning to account for St. Lucy’s (6-3) lone run, LaBreche delivered a

two-out single to left in the fourth to get the run back for the Falcons.

In the sixth, things began to unravel for the Regents, as CV’s first

six batters all reached base by way of singles, walks or fielder’s

choice, with Ashley Powell, LaBreche and Sarah Sherman all coming around

to score.

And Franks -- who came back less than 24 hours after tossing all 10

innings in Friday’s fifth-place semifinal win against La Puente Bishop

Amat -- benefitted from the five-run cushion, scattering just one hit

over the final four innings to improve to 5-1.

Sammy Dempsey singled and scored twice for the Falcons, who also

received hits from Sherman and Kaycee Crownover.

BOX SCORE

CV*0*0*2*1*0*3*1*--*7*9*0

St. Lucy’s*0*0*1*0*0*0*0*--*1*4*6

CV*IP*R*ER*H*BB*K

Franks*7*1*1*4*1*5

St. Lucy’s*IP*R*ER*H*BB*K

Guzman*7*7*2*9*1*3

WP-Franks (5-1).

LP-Guzman (2-3).

2B: SL-De La Riva.

SB: CV-McCauley.