Cars N’ Colors walk to first-round win

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan

Facing a better team and sending a first-year pitcher to the

circle wasn’t an ideal way Red Hot Coach David Fox wanted to start

the Little League District 16 Major Softball Tri-Cities Tournament.

Neither was issuing 15 walks in six innings.

The Red Hots, which had already fallen to Cars N’ Colors three

times in the regular season, lost once again, this time, 19-8,

Thursday at Scholl Canyon Park in a first-round game.

Cars N’ Colors (16-6) -- which was without two of its top players,

Jennifer Meza and Lyndsay Porchas -- will face Crescenta Valley

Little League champion Parkview (19-2) today at 5 p.m. at Scholl

Canyon Park.

The Red Hots (8-14) -- the fifth-place team from the CV Little

League -- will play either the Jewel City Firebelles or the Wildcats,

from the Foothill Little League, at 3 p.m. Saturday at Scholl Canyon

Park.

“When we get into a rut, we seem to follow it,” said Fox, whose

10-year-old starting pitcher, Megan Edwards, yielded 13 walks.

The Red Hots looked impressive early on, as Edwards allowed just

two hits and no runs through two innings and the offense supported

her with five runs.

But Cars N’ Colors starting pitcher Chelsea Barone limited the Red

Hots to just three runs and no hits the rest of the way -- striking

out seven in the process -- and Edwards had difficulty throwing a

strike, as Cars N’ Colors ran away with the win.

Kathryn Mohorc reached base five times, scoring four runs for Cars

N’ Colors. Teammate and leadoff hitter, Brittany Wright, scored three

times.

Five other players (Jessica Ramirez, Alyssa Johnson, Brittany

Burgard, Amy Holt and Haley Pollard) all scored twice. Barone and

Hannah Angel also scored.

Burgard provided the final two runs of the game with an

inside-the-park home run, her first of the season.

Nicole Duncan and Emily Heinemann had two runs for the Red Hots.