Eagles leave Mustangs feeling empty

COSTA MESA — It was only the first inning, but the Estancia High softball team celebrated as if Kendra Fisher’s big triple was the game-winner.

With the bases loaded, the Eagles had plenty of reason to cheer for Fisher. Actually, when the bases were loaded Tuesday against rival Costa Mesa, it seemed as if Estancia held the advantage. That’s what helped the Eagles finally celebrate a 10-8 win to open Orange Coast League play Tuesday.

Fisher’s triple in the first cleared the bases and she also scored after an errant throw went past the catcher, as Fisher followed Courtney Ulrich home.

The Eagles (11-3, 1-0 in league), ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division V, scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth with Fisher showing what to do with the table set.

The Mustangs (9-9, 0-1) couldn’t say the same. They left 17 runners stranded, including bases loaded in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings.

Costa Mesa’s fans were left silent, while Estancia’s supporters cheered and shouted out the name, “Shy.”

But there was hardly anything shy about the way Cheyanne Flores performed in the circle.

Estancia’s junior pitcher struck out 12, including eight with the bases loaded.

“I just got really focused,” Flores said of her mentality with the bases juiced. “The coaches kept telling me to calm down. Calm down. I knew I had to relax.”

Flores actually didn’t help her cause much in the first inning, as she opened the game with three straight walks. The Mustangs then grabbed their only lead of the game when Alosina Skipps’ fly ball dropped in center field, which scored a run. But Flores then mowed down three straight batters.

With the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth, Flores struck out two and induced a groundout to escape that jam. Perhaps fittingly, she ended the game with a strikeout, punching out the batter that represented the go-ahead run in the seventh.

“The major difference is we had horrible at-bats with the bases loaded with no outs twice,” Costa Mesa Coach Marcus Franco said. “Our situational hitting was atrocious ... But the thing I love about these girls is that they kept coming back and competing.”

After five innings, Costa Mesa was only down, 7-6. With three hits and three runs in the fifth, the Mustangs got right back in the game and started to make people understand why so many call this matchup a crosstown rivalry.

Alex Krohnfeldt came up with a clutch two-run single. Skipps, who had three hits and scored twice, added another RBI to put the Mustangs within one.

But the Eagles stretched their lead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. This time it was Nicole Marlborough who had the big hit. She provided a two-run single. Kassie Stratton, who had two hits and reached on a walk in the sixth, scored after a wild pitch.

“That is a typical Costa Mesa-Estancia game,” Estancia Coach Judd Fryslie said. “I don’t care if we have a ranking or if they do. It would be the same way, in any sport. I’ve been around long enough to know that.”

Orange Coast League

Estancia 10, Costa Mesa 8

SCORE BY INNINGS

Mitani and Skipps; Flores and Hartwell. W – Flores, 9-2. L – Mitani, 9-8. 2B – Feinstein (CM); Hartwell (E). 3B – Fisher (E).

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at steve.virgen@latimes.com.