Girls Softball: Vaqueros get the lucky card

GARDEN GROVE - Amid coaching changes and injuries, some teams might

cringe and give up.

But not the Corona del Mar High girls softball team.

The Sea Kings (11-9, 7-3 in the Pacific Coast League) battled through

injuries such as catcher Amy Tyson getting hit in the face with a

comebacker in a Pacific Coast League game, and adjusted to a coaching

change earlier in league play.

They showed the same toughness Wednesday, battling with host Rancho

Alamitos (14-11) in a wild-card game of the CIF Southern Section Division

IV playoffs at Bryant School in Garden Grove, but didn’t have quite

enough.

The Vaqueros scored the only run of the game in the third inning when

junior designated hitter Shantae Fernandez tripled home junior shortstop

Vanessa Brown, who had reached on an error.

The loss ends Corona del Mar’s season, as Rancho Alamitos moves on to

play Olympic League champion Orange Lutheran Friday in the first round.

“(Rancho Alamitos) got a little break that we didn’t,” said CdM Coach

Ed Mejia, a former assistant coach who took over in the team’s second

league game after first-year coach Yogi Johnson resigned for medical

reasons. “The little error in the third gave them a run to beat us. We

were making contact but hitting it right at somebody. The girls played a

hell of a game. Can’t take nothing from them.”

Brown reached base in the third when the CdM shortstop bobbled a

grounder and couldn’t throw to first in time. Next came Fernandez, who

lifted Alissa Zoelle’s first pitch into center field. Andrea Gruber dove

to her left but the ball dropped and rolled past her, allowing Brown to

score from first.

Both pitchers went the distance.

Junior Alissa Zoelle went six innings, allowing one run, striking out

three, walking one and scattering four hits.

“She was on,” Mejia said. “Probably one of the best games I’ve seen

her throw.”

Zoelle led the Sea Kings at the plate, going 2 for 3 with two singles.

The Sea Kings bunted several times, but right fielder Heather Lohrman

was the only one to safely reach base. She did so in the second inning.

Zoelle was the only Sea King to get past first base. She got to third

base in the second on successive sacrifice outs, but was stranded, ending

CdM’s only scoring chance.

Vaquero junior Kelly Yost allowed no runs on two hits, while striking

out six, walking no one.

Yost struck out the side in the first inning and retired the last 10

batters she faced.

“We’re evenly matched,” said Rancho Alamitos assistant coach Joe

Weddle of CdM and Rancho Alamitos. The pitchers really drive our teams.

(Yost) was fortunate to match (Zoelle) pitch-for-pitch. We got one clutch

hit they didn’t seem to get.”

Even with the loss, Mejia was proud of the way his team fought through

what he said was a tumultuous season that got even more complicated with

starting right fielder Melanie Cole sitting out Wednesday’s game because

she was involved in a car accident Tuesday, he said.

“It was that kind of season,” Mejia said. “Every week and a half

something was happening. But we’re here. Win or lose, it was a great

game. These are tough girls.”

CIF Division IV Wild Card

Rancho Alamitos 1, Corona del Mar 0

Corona del Mar 000 000 0 - 0 2 4

Rancho Alamitos 001 000 x - 1 4 0

Zoelle and Stern; Yost and Rayle. W - Yost. L - Zoelle. 3B - Fernandez

(RA).