High School Softball: Marshall represents well

IRVINE — The 14th annual Orange County Coaches All-Star Softball Classic was mostly about having a good time, showcasing some of the top talent in the county.

Newport Harbor High senior Hattie Marshall was the first Sailor to play in the prestigious game since Julianne Bass and Ashley Gleason both did so in 2005.

On the big stage, Marshall showed she belonged.

She got a hit in her only at-bat of the game Tuesday evening at Bill Barber Park, stroking a single to left field in the fifth inning. And she made a dazzling defensive play at first base in the seventh, catching a low line drive and doubling a runner off second base.

Marshall also ended her high school career a winner. Her “Comets” team, featuring players from the Sunset, Pacific Coast and Golden West leagues, secured a 7-3 win over the “Belles” (Empire, Freeway, Orange Coast and Sea View leagues).

“It’s just kind of cool to play with the girls that we’re usually competing with [in league],” said Marshall, last year’s Newport-Mesa Player of the Year who is bound for Concordia University. “It’s different. It’s weird having your competitors cheer you on.”

Hattie wasn’t too nervous. She’s played travel-ball with many of her teammates in the game. She’s currently playing with one teammate, Coté Clark of Beckman, on the SoCal Strikkers. They were at a national qualifier tournament last weekend in Peoria, Ariz.

It’s June, so Hattie Marshall is pretty much in travel-ball mode at this point.

“I don’t have a weekend off until Aug. 3,” she said.

She said she is excited to play next year at Concordia, which won the NAIA National Championship this year. One place she didn’t find herself Tuesday was pitching in the circle. She didn’t get a chance to become battery-mates again with another teammate in the game, former Newport Harbor standout Bella Secaira.

Secaira, a catcher, was the 2011 Newport-Mesa Player of the Year as a sophomore. Just after that season, she survived a 30-foot fall from an apartment building despite suffering a spinal cord fracture, collapsed lung and a slight concussion. Before her junior year, she transferred to Marina.

Secaira, bound for the University of Utah, seems to be thriving again. Her hard-hit ball past the second baseman plated two runs in the sixth inning, when the Comets scored four runs to break open a 3-3 tie. She also threw out a runner trying to advance to second base.

She’s also playing in the Orange County vs. Riverside County All-Star Game, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton.

“I’ve seen her a lot, because we still play against either other,” Marshall said. “We still talk, too, so it wasn’t that weird. I’ve known her since I was in elementary school.”

Even without Secaira, Newport Harbor still accomplished goals the past two years. This year Marshall helped the Sailors win a Sunset League game for the first time in six years, breaking a 53-game league losing streak.

“I’m satisfied,” said Marshall, who hit .452 this year for the Sailors. “I reached my goal playing at Newport Harbor, which was win a Sunset League game. I hit well and pitched OK, so I was happy.”