CdM softball duo honored

A pair of Corona del Mar High softball players were named to the All-Pacific Coast League second team. Junior pitcher Michelle Tolfa was an All-Pacific League first-team selection and Holly Van Hiel was a second-team pick.

Tolfa (10-11) hurled a complete game with nine strikeouts in Corona del Mar’s playoff-clinching 8-1 victory over University and finished the season with an earned-run average of 1.50. Tolfa batted .325 with one home run and 14 RBIs.

Tolfa, the Daily Pilot Dream Team Player of the Year two years running, helped give Corona del Mar Back Bay bragging rights for a year when she struck out 14 batters against rival Newport Harbor in a 1-0 complete-game shutout. Tolfa allowed just three hits in the game.

Van Hiel played a stellar center field, making just one error all season. She also was 4-0 as a pitcher, hurling three complete games. Van Hiel’s batting average dropped to .234, but she still drove home 11 runs and figures to boost her batting average back up into the .300 range next season.

The duo assures that the Sea Kings will be strong up the middle for another year and gives the team an optimistic outlook heading into next season.

The Corona del Mar High softball finished fourth in the seven-team Pacific Coast League.