Bats can’t back one-hitter

GLENDALE — The Crescenta Valley Junior All-Star softball team struggled to put it all together this season.

If the pitching was on, it seemed hits weren’t coming and that was the story Wednesday night when Crescenta Valley fell to Westchester Del Rey, 3-1, in the semifinals of the Southern California State Championship tournament in Victorville on Wednesday night.

Olivia Thayer and Adela Alatraca combined to pitch a one-hitter for the locals, throwing three and four innings, respectively, but it wasn’t enough, as four CV errors led to three Westchester runs.

The defeat eliminates Crescenta Valley from the tournament, as it suffered its second loss of the double-elimination event. Westchester Del Rey handed the locals both of their losses, defeating CV, 4-2, on Sunday.

Crescenta Valley Coach Will Thayer said it wasn’t a matter of his team being outmatched. The balls wouldn’t fall for his team Wednesday, he said.

“The wind was blowing dead straight in,” Thayer said. “We had eight or nine easy fly outs because of the wind and they made their catches. The ball sat up in the air like a nice, lazy golf shot.”

CV collected four hits in the game, three of them came in the second inning when the locals scored their lone run to go up, 1-0. Thayer, Clair Oconnor and Paige Trestrail each had hits in the frame. Trestrail drove in the run and finished the game with two hits.

“When [the hits] are that spread apart and you can’t string them together it’s hard to score runs,” Thayer said.

Westchester’s offense scored its runs without the benefit of a hit. Two of the team’s runs came in the third inning when Crescenta Valley committed three errors. Westchester added its third run in the fifth inning, as a lead-off walk, sacrifice bunt and fielder’s choice finished the scoring at 3-1.

Crescenta Valley loaded the bases in its half of the fifth but couldn’t come up with a timely hit.

“Their pitching was nothing special at all, the South El Monte pitching was better [Tuesday], but it just didn’t fall for us,” Coach Thayer said.

Although the end came sooner than he would have liked, Thayer was still proud of his team’s two-week run.

“We finished with a 6-2 record over the past two weeks and in any sport that’s a great run,” Thayer said. “You don’t get much leeway here; you have to keep winning all the time. I had a great time and we have been to the state division two years in a row now and they have a lot to proud of.”