Marina getting the job done

Marina High softball Coach Shelly Luth counted 12 Division I schools, 10 Division II schools and 10 Division III schools at last weekend’s Michelle Carew Classic.

The Vikings were one of the Division I schools, and Luth said Division I is loaded this year.

Numbers game aside, though, Marina stepped it up at Anaheim’s Peralta Park.

“There were very few weak schools there,” Luth said. “Fourth out of 32 is pretty respectable.”

Marina did indeed take fourth at the prestigious tournament, including a 2-1 quarterfinal upset win over Canyon of Anaheim. Canyon came into that game as the top-ranked team in the county and No. 4 in the state, according to CalHiSports.

With the bases loaded in the first, Marina’s Kristen Struett was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Struett would later drive in Chloe Kaneko in the third.

Oregon-bound pitcher Jamie Sullivan got the win for Marina (13-6), which went on to fall in the semifinals to eventual champion Valencia, 5-0, then lost in the third-place game to Ayala of Chino Hills, 4-0.

Luth said Sullivan has missed much of the year with a knee injury, but others have stepped up. Struett and senior Jackie Kent have also pitched and Luth said the development of catcher Ari Tedesco has also been big.

Sandy Simmons, a sophomore outfielder, has also had a fine start to the season.

“We still don’t have a specific leader,” Luth said. “We have lots of little leaders. It’s been one of the most fun groups I’ve coached in a long time.”

Marina and Edison were co-Sunset League champions last year, and they play at 3 p.m. today at Edison.

Marina edged Esperanza, 3-2, in its league opener Tuesday. Sullivan got the win in relief.

Edison: The Chargers won the silver bracket at the Woodbridge Classic Tournament on Saturday, defeating North Torrance, 4-0, in the tournament championship game. Jessica Plaza was two for two with a home run, and fellow sophomore Nicole Zapotoczny also had a pair of hits.

Freshman Samantha Cordova pitched a no-hitter in the win, striking out seven and walking three.

Edison (14-5) got past San Clemente, 9-3, in a silver bracket semifinal.

The Chargers also opened Sunset League play Tuesday against Los Alamitos, but fell, 6-2. Los Al opened up a 6-0 lead after three innings.

Huntington Beach at Best of West Tournament: The Huntington Beach High softball team traveled to Santa Maria last week to compete in the prestigious Best of the West Softball tournament. Teams from Kentucky, Arizona, Nevada and California were represented, and the Oilers went 4-1 to win the Silver Group championship.

Huntington Beach Coach Jeff Forsberg is focused on growing the program, and his team took major strides in this tournament. On Monday, Huntington lost its first game 1-0 to Alemany High School in a international tie-breaker. In the second round-robin group contest, H.B. defeated Seton Hall of Arizona, 2-1, in another gut-wrenching international tie-breaker. Freshman Justice Walker bunted freshman Jillian Martinez to third, then Martinez beat the throw home on a fielder’s choice RBI by senior Meghan White, who had induced a pickle run-down between first and second base.

Senior pitcher Amanda Horowitz pitched both games, totaling 20 strikeouts and allowing no walks.

On Tuesday, H.B. won consecutive games against Buena High of Ventura, 9-4, and Damonte Ranch of Reno, 5-2. Freshman pitcher Raegan Zschach went the distance against Buena, scattering five hits with three strikeouts. Walker went one for three with a triple, and Lauren Stuhr had two RBI singles. White and Vicky Galasso had two hits apiece. Freshman Tamra Hartmann tallied her first varsity single and RBI. Sophomore Sam Santopaolo went one for two with an RBI. Against Damonte Ranch, Horowitz earned the win with eight strikeouts, helping her cause by going three for three with two RBIs. Senior Courtney Dial went 1-3 and scored twice.

On Wednesday, Huntington played Downey High in the Silver Championship game and won in a thriller, 3-2, in eight innings. Forsberg started freshman Zschach, and she did not flinch, pitching five innings and allowing two unearned runs. Walker earned an assist, throwing out a Downey runner out at home who was trying to score from second in the second inning. Horowitz relieved Zschach in the top of the sixth and from that point shut down the powerful Downey lineup. H.B. was down 2-0 in the bottom of the final inning with two outs and two strikes on Dial, who then laced a clutch single to center. Notre Dame-bound Stuhr then promptly drove a line drive over the right fielder’s head and circled the bases for a two-run inside the park home-run to tie the game.

The Oilers won the game in the eighth inning tie-breaker when senior Cory Schlinsog laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Walker to third, and then Zschach hit a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop, with Walker sliding under the tag at home to win the tournament for the Oilers.

Huntington Beach was 12-6-1 heading into its league opener Tuesday against Foothill.

— Brian White, Community Correspondent

TRACK AND FIELD

Arcadia Invitational: Fountain Valley senior Kyle Middlebrooks, who finished second in the 100 meters last year at the CIF State championships, didn’t run in the meet due to a lingering hamstring injury. However, several top 10 individual performances were still had in the prestigious meet Saturday at Arcadia High.

Marina High senior Jeremy Kennedy (15-01) was ninth in the pole vault and the Vikings also won the girls’ 1,600 sprint medley seeded race and the boys’ 4x800 seeded relay.

Edison junior Monica Danielson was sixth in the girls’ pole vault, clearing 10-1. Huntington Beach senior Megan Good was ninth in the discus (116-06). Fountain Valley was third (12:32.19) in the girls’ distance medley relay and Edison was fifth (12:36.19).

The Oilers’ Mike and Amy Loschavo also turned in strong pole vault performances. Mike, a senior, was 13th in the boys’ by clearing 14-1, and Amy, a sophomore, cleared 11-1.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

Esperanza 3, Edison 1: Both teams came into Tuesday’s match undefeated in the Sunset League, but only Edison can say that after the Aztecs posted a 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, win.

Edison (2-1 in league) is ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division I poll and Esperanza is ranked No. 6.