ANAHEIM – Its fight was undeniable, and in battling down to what was its very last strike of the evening, La Habra’s heart and grit prevailed in a wild comeback victory.
Senior Janelle Rodriguez roped the go-ahead two-run home run on a 1-2 count with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, and Hannah Johnson preserved the Highlanders’ only lead of the night to claim a 5-4 victory over Mission Viejo on Thursday night in the second round of the Michelle Carew Classic at Peralta Park.
Headed into the top half of the sixth inning, the third-ranked Highlanders trailed the No. 2 Diablos by three runs. With a runner on first base with one out, Anissa Alatorre belted a two-run home run to right-center field, cutting the La Habra deficit to 4-3.
With a one-hour and 45-minute time limit in effect, Johnson retired the Diablos with one-minute to spare in the sixth, allowing for a new inning to be started.
After Mission Viejo pitcher Kyra Snyder recorded two quick outs in the top half of the seventh, Savannah Tourville reached first base on a walk, setting the stage for Rodriguez’s dramatic blast.
With the one-run lead headed to the bottom of the seventh, Johnson retired Camryn Ybarra, Olivia Viggiano and Terra McGowan in order to earn the victory. Ybarra and McGowan had hit home runs off Johnson earlier in the game, but La Habra’s senior forced three fly ball outs to seal the victory.
The Highlanders will play Los Alamitos in today’s quarterfinals at 3:15 p.m.
Also in the Carew Classic:
No. 1 Los Alamitos 9, Foothill 0: Mary Iakopo’s two-run home run highlighted a five-run first inning that the Griffins used to topple the Knights in a second-round matchup.
Iakopo added a ground-rule double later in the contest.
Kaitlin Parsons stole three bases and scored two runs for Los Alamitos.
Andrea Gonzalez, Cami Sellers and Caitlin Ladd added RBI singles in the first two innings.
