CdM Softball’s magic act continues in Tumbarello’s return
If one pays attention to the stories being told in the stands, they will begin to realize the significance of this season for Corona del Mar High softball.
The eavesdropper does not have to listen very carefully because the excitement is spreading like wildfire.
Tales from the spectators speak of a time when they hoped that the Sea Kings could get out of the first inning with a workable margin.
After CdM picked up its second straight Pacific Coast League win in an 11-1 decision over University at home on Tuesday, those stories have begun to change.
“2-0 in league. Words that were never spoken,” Kyle Franson, the father of the team’s starting shortstop, Brooke Franson, said.
Shelley Black, the mother of Lauren Oberreiter, asked to be pinched to ensure that she was not dreaming.
These are the reactions of two senior parents, who like the team, simply cannot believe their eyes after the team just broke its nine-year league curse.
Audrey Tumbarello and Mallory McCrane combined on a one-hitter, as Tumbarello made her first start since suffering a back injury on Opening Day.
Sea Kings Coach Jordann Wakabayashi stated that she wanted to limit the workload of Tumbarello upon her return. She planned to cap the freshman at two innings against the Trojans (3-8, 0-2), but a four-pitch second inning changed her mind.
Tumbarello wound up throwing three no-hit innings, walking just one against three strikeouts.
“I was a little nervous at first, and then I threw a couple of pitches,” Tumbarello said. “I was like, ‘It’s going to be okay. I’m fine.’”
“I definitely was not expecting to do that well, especially for my first time back. It was super exciting.”
The Sea Kings (10-6, 2-0) strung together 17 hits as a team. Each of the top six hitters in the batting order collected at least two hits.
Franson led the charge, falling a double short of the cycle. She had four hits, three runs scored, and three RBIs.
The CdM shortstop singled to center in her fourth at-bat, and she was halfway to second when she saw Sophia Rhee standing on the base in front of her.
“You may have missed a sign there,” Wakabayashi joked with Rhee after the game.
Corona del Mar is beginning to dream big. That began with a bold statement by Franson that the team may be 4-0 in league after this week.
The Sea Kings have a key home matchup with Woodbridge (9-11, 2-0) on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. The winner of that game will have sole-possession of first place in the Pacific Coast League.
“That was pretty exciting because that’s never happened before in my four years of being here,” Franson said of improving to 2-0 in league. “I’m pretty stoked.”
“I think we can keep winning. I think we have a chance at going 4-0 this week. That’s my goal.”
Raine Finley went three for four with three RBIs. Her two-run single in the bottom of the fifth clinched the victory via the mercy rule.
Sophia Rhee also had three hits and two RBIs. The freshman third baseman said the game turned out better than expected after her team faced a 13-day layoff following the program’s first league win since the 2008 season.
“I thought we all were going to be rusty,” Rhee said. “I thought we were all going to be slow, but we actually got up to speed, and we did really well.”
Kira Delgadillo, Sapphire Angely-Veron, and McCrane each had two hits.
Amerys Barshtak also had a hit. She added an outfield assist in center field when University’s Alexis Arredondo tried to stretch her RBI-single into a double in the fifth.
“We just didn’t have the bats,” first-year Trojans Coach Gretchen Bock said. “We just didn’t have it, and that’s the name of the game.”
“This is a great team, and this is one of those anomalies in life. They’re doing great.”
Pacific Coast League
Corona del Mar 11, University 1
SCORE BY INNINGS
Uni 000 01 — 0 1 2
CdM 311 24 — 11 17 1
Oh and Denlinger; Tumbarello, McCrane (4) and Delgadillo. WP — Tumbarello, 1-0. LP — Oh. 2B — Delgadillo. 3B — Franson. HR — Franson.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
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