The instant the softball beamed off of Skylar Tonumaipea’s bat in the fifth inning, all eyes darted toward Ocean View pitcher Billi Derleth.
With literally no time to react, Derleth somehow managed to get part of her glove on the hard-hit liner, preventing the laser-like shot from reaching the outfield.
While she slowed the ball’s momentum, Derleth had no such luck preventing Loara’s lineup from picking up steam after that.
The Saxons broke open a tie game in the fifth inning with a four-run onslaught and used that to top the Seahawks, 5-1, in a Golden West League game Friday at Ocean View High.
“It’s always important to get the first win,” Loara coach Todd Rolph said. “You never want to be chasing people. (Ocean View) and Segerstrom were already 1-0 (in league), so we knew we didn’t want to have to follow anyone.”
With the school on spring break last week, the Saxons’ game Friday was their first in 10 days.
Junior pitcher Vanessa Ledesma looked anything but rusty in the circle, limiting the Seahawks to one run and five hits.
“She was getting ahead of hitters and kept pounding the ball,” Rolph said. “We played defense and made some nice plays behind her.”
Loara (10-7, 1-0) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top half of the second when catcher Alanna Torres belted a solo homer to left-center field through the gusty Huntington Beach winds.
Not to be outdone by her counterpart, Ocean View (13-4, 1-1) catcher Jade Bustamonte evened things with her own solo shot in the bottom of the fourth.
“They’re loose, confident and just don’t get down,” Rolph said of his team. “They’re responding to those types of things really well right now.”
Tonumaipea’s liner started the Saxons’ rally in the top of the fifth. Victoria Moreno and Kaitlyn Eveland reached base in back-to-back at-bats to load the bases with one out.
Elisa Ledesma broke the 1-1 tie with a sac fly to center field that scored Tonumaipea. Ledesma followed with an RBI single to center field, and Amanda Limon stretched the lead out even further when she ripped a two-run double down the left-field line, capping the four-run rally.
Loara will host Segerstrom (11-5, 1-0) next Friday afternoon, with the winner seizing sole possession of first place in the league.
In the Trinity League:
Santa Margarita 11, JSerra 3: Sarah Cwiertnia went 5 for 5, scored a pair of runs and drove in another pair to help the Eagles claim their first league win of the season.
Santa Margarita catcher Jenna Cone added three base hits of her own to go along with two runs and two RBI. Seven different Eagles players drove in runs. Jayme Cone earned her 10th win, scattering four hits and striking out three.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
