CV rolls on

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Crescenta Valley was simply dominant in all facets in winning the District 16 All-Star Softball Tournament.

CV’s opponent, Tujunga, couldn’t match its superior pitching, hitting and defense.

And in the end, Crescenta Valley won the championship Saturday evening, 12-1, and will now advance to the Section 2 Tournament in Palmdale that is being anticipated by CV coaches with confidence.

“If we keep playing the way we have been, we could get past a couple teams and hopefully make the Regionals,” said CV Coach Art Games, who witnessed the squad come within one victory of being champions with a 16-5 victory Friday.

Crescenta Valley overwhelmed Tujunga with strong pitching, led by starter Ally Lombardo, who struck out six batters in her two innings of work.

By the time she was relieved by Jackie Dall, CV held a comfortable 5-0 advantage.

The runs had a lot to do with shaky Tujunga pitching, which allowed five walks in the first two innings, and crucial errors that were largely to blame for the first five runs.

For its part, Crescenta Valley relentlessly stole bases, which caused some errant throws to the bases, hence the errors.

Small ball or big ball, the strategy worked well enough to win the tournament.

“We ran the bases great, bunted well, had some double steals,” Gamez said. “All around, it was a great team effort and we showed a lot of heart.”

Dall kept the solid pitching going, as she struck out six and closed out the game, allowing the one run on a groundout in the fourth inning.

Lombardo and Dall combined to throw a one-hitter, walking just five batters.

“Our pitching was just superior,” CV Coach Dan Abboud said.

CV piled it on in the bottom of the fifth inning. Already leading, 7-1, Crescenta Valley scored five in the frame and it would have been more had the mercy rule not taken affect.

In the inning, Jordan Hinkel hit one of the few balls out into the outfield, a double to left-center field that plated two runners. An ensuing wild pitch enabled Hinkel to score, putting an end to two not so fun days for the Tujunga squad.

The only other ball to leave the infield came off the bat of Crescenta Valley’s Camie Ellington, who hit a triple to lead off the second inning. She scored on a passed ball to give the eventual champions a 3-0 lead that proved to be more than enough.