Edison can’t keep up with Los Al

HUNTINGTON BEACH – It was tight for the first four innings of a crucial Sunset League softball game between host Edison and Los Alamitos, but the wheels began to fall off for the Chargers in the fifth Thursday.

Los Alamitos struck for four runs in the top of the fifth and, combined with an error-plagued Edison defense, pulled away for a 13-5 victory that kept the Griffins on pace with Esperanza in the chase for the league championship.

Edison, which could have moved up into a tie for second place with Los Alamitos with a win, instead slipped to 5-3 and into third place.

Los Alamitos and Esperanza share first place at 7-1.

“It’s pretty much the story of our season,” Edison Coach Kendra Tarrant said. “This was a neck-and-neck, great ballgame up until the fifth. We just couldn’t finish it out, and that’s been our problem this year.”

The teams were tied 3-3 entering the fifth inning.

Edison, which was coming off a 12-1 win Tuesday against Newport Harbor, took a 1-0 lead after one inning Courtney Gonzales sent a shot deep to centerfield where the ball careened off the top of the fence and back into the field of play. Her triple scored Jordan Malavar.

Los Alamitos struck for three runs in the top of the second by parlaying three hits - two of which were slap bunts that somehow took off and turned into bloop singles into shallow left-field - and two walks into a 3-1 lead.

Edison earned a tie in bottom of the second when, with one out, Jordan Herman singled to left field and was followed by a home run to right field by Myranda Hoggatt.

Stephanie Engle threw the first four innings for Edison before being relieved by Sarah Munson to start the fifth. Engle gave up five hits and five walks. Megan Steele took the mound in the seventh for the Chargers.

Edison closes out the regular season with big games next week against Esperanza and rival Fountain Valley, starting at 3:15 p.m. at Tuesday at Esperanza.

Edison handed Esperanza its only league loss, 8-5, back on April 17. Since then, the Aztecs have won five straight.

“That’s the nature of the Sunset League - they’re all big games,” Tarrant said. “Next week’s a big week for everybody in this league. We can clinch third place and secure a CIF berth by winning.”

Other Thursday softball scores:

Sunset League

Esperanza 4, Marina 1

Shannon Simons hit a lead-off home run for Marina to begin the game but Esperanza did the rest of the scoring to hold on to a share of the league lead with Los Alamitos.

Today’s games

Golden West League

Saddleback at Ocean View, 3:15 p.m.

In high school baseball

Ocean View 9, Westminster 4

Andrew Bynum’s lead-off home run in the top of the sixth inning tied the score at 4-4 and ignited a five-run rally for Ocean View which rolled late to dispose of host Westminster.

The homer was the second RBI of the day for the junior who went two for three to keep Ocean View in sole possession of first place in the Golden West League heading into the final week of the regular season.

Senior Sean Burleson’s RBI-double in the seventh padded the score to 9-5.

Junior Robert Garay, who relieved starter Scott Baxter in the fourth inning, finished on the mound to earn his first win of the season.

Ocean View had taken a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Westminster came back for three runs in the bottom of the fourth to forge a 3-1 lead. The Seahawks responded in the top of the fifth with a two-run inning highlighted by an RBI-double by senior Scott Baxter, single by Burleson and double by sophomore catcher Nick Schulenburg. They then went ahead in the sixth by scoring four times.

“It was a good game for us to win,” Ocean View Coach Shane Borowski said. “Our kids kept their composure in some tough situations. We showed a lot of patience today, a lot of character and a lot of heart. I’m really proud of how we battled back and shut them down when we needed to.

“I liked how our kids kept their mouths shut and played the game with their bats and gloves. There were some testy situations today and instead of getting on each other or the other team, we came together and gelled as a unit. I’m very happy with how we are playing right now. We still have our work cut out for us, so we can only enjoy this one for a day and get right back to work tomorrow.”

The Seahawks and Lions meet again at 3:15 p.m. today in the final of the teams’ three-game league series at Ocean View.

Ocean View has won the previous two meetings between the teams.

Today’s other other games:

Sea View League

El Toro at Huntington Beach, 3:15 p.m.

Sunset League

Edison at Esperanza, 3:15 p.m.

Marina at Fountain Valley, 3:15 p.m.