Falcons finish league with rout
ARCADIA — After a disastrous shutout loss to Glendale High a week earlier, Crescenta Valley High’s softball was looking to gain some positive momentum heading into next week’s CIF postseason.
It found it in the form of a 13-2 five-inning rout of archrival Arcadia on the road Thursday in both teams’ Pacific League finale.
“We wanted to get this game over and get into CIF,” said senior catcher Allison Lacey, who went two for two with a pair of runs batted in and two more runs scored. “Our hitting’s on right now. [We] just need to figure out the miscues in the field. Once we get that, we’re solid.”
A pair of Falcons errors led to one Arcadia (13-9, 8-6 in league) unearned run, but the 11 hits and three walks for Crescenta Valley (20-6, 11-3) far outweighed any defensive gaffes. The turning point came early, as the Falcons, keyed by Jessica Morena’s two-run triple, plated seven runs in the second inning to grow a 2-0 lead into an insurmountable 9-0 advantage.
“We went through the whole lineup,” said Lacey, who reached base on a sacrifice bunt in the inning that also scored Brady Sanford to make it 4-0 before she came around to score on Morena’s triple. “Everybody on the team pretty much hit.”
The top of the order, including Lacey, keyed the Falcons, with Hailey Cookson going three for three with three runs and a RBI, Hannah Cookson adding two runs, a RBI and a walk and Morena driving in four runs on a base hit, double and the triple.
“Based on our last couple of games, we were talking about being disciplined at the plate,” CV interim Coach Mark Samford said. “It helped.”
CV added three runs in the third, with Hailey Cookson scoring on an error, Morena doubling in Lacey and Hannah Cookson scoring on another error. A single run came in the fourth when Sanford scored on an error.
Olivia Thayer got the win in the circle, tossing four innings, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned), as the majority of her trouble came against Arcadia’s Yeram Park, who went three for three with a RBI.
Tiffany Briscoe and Claire Ortiz also had run-scoring hits for the Falcons.
“We had good at-bats all the way through the lineup,” Samford said. “That’s what I’m looking for at this point.”
On the strength of Burroughs’ 2-1 extra-inning win over Burbank Thursday, Burbank and CV finished in a tie for second, with the Indians taking their third straight title and Arcadia finishing fourth. CIF playoff pairings are set to be released Monday at 11 a.m.