Triple play helps Mustangs

NEWPORT BEACH — Sami Feinstein saw this kind of hit before. Of course, under no pressure the day before Costa Mesa High’s softball game Friday.

A ball traveled toward centerfield, high and shallow enough for Feinstein to race underneath it. The second baseman easily gloved the one in practice.

The fly ball at Newport Harbor Friday, ace Kira Mitani needed Feinstein to get her out of a sixth-inning jam.

With no outs and runners on second and first base, Feinstein killed a Newport Harbor rally.

The sophomore turned a triple play.

Feinstein caught the ball near the grass, sped toward second base and stepped on it before firing a strike to first base for the unusual play.

The Sailors, playing their sixth game in seven days, have seen a lot of softball, never a triple play. They also hadn’t faced Mitani.

The junior slowed down Newport Harbor, recording eight strikeouts to lead the Mustangs to a 4-1 victory. One of the first players Mitani sought out after the nonleague game was Feinstein.

“I want to give Sami a big kiss right now,” Mitani said.

“My heart skipped a beat a little [in the sixth].”

Coach Marcus Franco is glad Mitani’s heart is with the Mustangs.

Mitani quit early last season due to what she said were “some issues” she had with Franco in his first year.

“We resolved them,” Mitani said.

Franco said he and his right-hander are closer than ever. Because of Mitani’s presence, the Mustangs are off to a 4-2 start, helping ease the relationship between coach and player.

Franco described the relationship as “a Phil Jackson-Kobe Bryant type of deal.” The only thing missing at Costa Mesa is the kind of success the Los Angeles Lakers have enjoyed with Jackson as coach and Bryant as their star.

Clearly, Mitani (4-2) is the Mustangs’ MVP.

She kept the Sailors in check, allowing only four hits, all singles, and the run in the first inning was unearned.

As the No. 3 hitter, Mitani went three for four with two runs batted in and a double. Her extra-base hit in the third inning put the Mustangs up for good.

Costa Mesa also faced a tough pitcher before resuming play today at the Costa Mesa Tournament, a two-day event which began on March 7.

Newport Harbor (3-3) sent Alex Bauer to the circle. The sophomore matched Mitani pitch for pitch, mowing down a career-best 13 batters.

Her father, Tim, pays Bauer (3-2) a dollar for every strikeout.

“I’m going to go broke,” joked Tim, who will watch his daughter throw again when Newport Harbor plays today at the Costa Mesa Tournament.

Dad’s wallet has been open a lot. In six games, Bauer has 50 strikeouts.

Tim probably would’ve opened the bank for her daughter in the bottom of the sixth if she had helped the Sailors come back from a three-run deficit.

Newport Harbor’s Amanda Legault led off with an infield single and Angela Graham followed with a single to left, setting things up for Bauer, the clean-up hitter.

Both coaching staffs offered advice before Mitani delivered a pitch. Franco called for a meeting with Mitani and Newport Harbor third-base coach Tony Qualin warned his base runners.

“Do you know your station?” he asked before adding, “Remember, station to station.”

After Mitani missed with two balls, Bauer hit a ball above her, heading toward centerfield. The runners forgot about the smart base running.

A run sure looked good to the runner moving to third. The runner going to second was almost there.

In a matter of seconds, their destinations changed. Feinstein caught Bauer’s ball for the first out.

The runners raced back to their stations.

Too late. Without hesitation, Feinstein sprinted toward second base for the second out. Under control, she threw the ball to first base for the third out.

Through the entire triple play, Feinstein didn’t think.

“I just knew what to do,” she said.

Like the day before, Feinstein was just playing catch.

Nonleague

Costa Mesa 4, Newport Harbor 1

SCORE BY INNINGS

Mitani and Castro; Bauer and Legault. W – Mitani, 4-2. L – Bauer, 3-2. 2B – Mitani (CM).

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.