RIVERSIDE – Canyon softball coach Dan Hay said he was prepared to bring back Pacifica ace Kaylee Carlson if Hayley Copeland ran into any sort of trouble.
However, Copeland had things under control.
Copeland, Esperanza’s star pitcher headed to South Carolina, was dominant in her five innings of work, striking out 11 as Orange County beat Riverside County, 7-1, Wednesday at California Baptist University in the annual two-county all-star game.
“She had rough weekend, from what I heard, in travel ball, and she struggle a bit during our county all-star game Tuesday,” Hay said. “She had everything working for her tonight.”
Copeland allowed a pair of two-out singles to Janine Petmecky (Riverside Poly) and Taylor VanZee (Hemet) in the sixth inning. They were the only two hitters to reach base against Copeland, who used her deceptive curving rise ball to overwhelm the batters.
“It felt really good out there,” Copeland said. “I play with or against a lot of those girls in travel ball,” Copeland said. “It was a real fun experience.”
Riverside County jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, as Poly’s Chelsea Johnson singled home Murrieta Valley’s Stephanie Moreno.
However, it was all Orange County after that.
Taylor Swearingen (Canyon) singled home a run to tie the score in the second inning, and Orange County added two unearned runs later in the inning to extend the lead to 3-1.
Orange County scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning and one more during the sixth. Esperanza’s Brynley Steele capped things with a solo home run in the ninth inning.
Alexis Osorio pitched her final game in a King uniform. She threw to her good friend and travel ball teammate, Ashley Goodwin of Norco, during three innings of work.
Orange County has won four straight games and leads the all-time series, 5-4-2.
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