Slow start dooms Sage Hill

NEWPORT BEACH ? The Lightning needed a full slate of preseason games. With four of the nine starters coming into the season without any softball experience, the games prior to the Academy League season were crucial.

The weather did not cooperate. Six games were rained out, not including a portion of the Estancia Tournament.

In Sage Hill’s fifth game of the season, third in league play, the Lightning (0-5, 0-3 in league) lost, 11-0, to Whitney in five innings at home Tuesday.

It did not help the Lightning that Whitney had what Sage Hill Coach Rodger Corbett called a Division I level pitcher in the circle. Vanessa Goncalves pitched a complete game one-hitter, striking out seven.

“She plays travel ball,” Corbett said. “On one of the good teams. We don’t have any players who play travel ball.”

In a way, Corbett said he hopes the rest of the season will play out like Tuesday’s game. Sage Hill started out overwhelmed, then ? after getting a look at the opponent ? came back to be competitive.

The first trip through the order, Sage Hill was late with its swings. Those who didn’t strike out, hit the ball to the right side. Whitney second baseman Melanie Goncalves recorded three assists in the first two innings.

The second time up to bat, the Lightning had made adjustments and improved. Amy Penner ripped a grounder back to the pitcher, which Goncalves snagged for an out. Morgan Hembarsky chopped a ground ball that the shortstop could not handle and moved to second on the overthrow.

Next up, Rebecca Hembarsky shot a line drive to center field for the Lightning’s first hit of the game.

“These are smart girls,” Corbett said. “They are doing their best. It’s tough on them, we missed a lot of games.”

Rebecca Hembarsky, a senior, said she sees improvement down the road.

“We’re getting better,” she said. “[Goncalves] is pretty good, but we just haven’t hit enough. We’ll do better next time we see her.”

The rain pushed Corbett’s plans back a couple weeks. Instead of starting league games playing to their potential, Corbett said he plans on his team playing at a .500 level midway through league play.

“They don’t quit,” he said. “They’ll start coming around a little bit. It’s new to them. We should have done this in preseason.”

Sophomore Katie McKeon, who was a part of Sage Hill’s playoff team last season, foresees the team turning its fortunes around with more experience.

“We’re hitting a rough patch,” she said. “We only had two preseason games. There’s a lot of new players. We’re hanging in there. We have girls with talent. We just haven’t seen a lot of pitching. We haven’t got enough games.

“Once we see what the other teams have, we’ll do better. We have a shot.”