Just a week ago, it looked as if the Sunset League title would ultimately be a two-team race between No. 4 Marina and No. 9 Huntington Beach.
It’s crazy how much things can change in seven days.
After impressive performances in the Michelle Carew Classic and Woodbridge Classic, Los Alamitos and Edison now have the Sunset League looking like one of the best leagues top to bottom in the county.
The Griffins (14-7) not only made noise at last week’s Carew Classic, they nearly hoisted the championship trophy on Saturday night. Los Al was the talk of Peralta Canyon Park throughout the week as it opened the tourney with wins over Simi Valley, Saugus, No. 7 Yorba Linda and Alhambra of Martinez.
In the championship game Saturday, the Griffins ran out of steam and lost 2-1 to Amador Valley of Pleasanton, ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps.com.
Ryan Denhart, Rachel Sellers, Allisha Martinez and Jenna Holcomb were named to the all-tournament teams for their stellar week-long performances. Of those four players, Denhart and Martinez are freshmen who came up clutch in critical situations.
Denhart went 4-1 in the circle against five quality opponents, while Martinez drove in the winning runs in an 11-inning battle with Yorba Linda.
“We’re going to be a team to be reckoned with the rest of this season,” said Griffins coach Rob Weil after the loss to Amador Valley.
Edison coach Kim Ensey shared a similar sentiment with her counterpart.
The Chargers opened the season with a lackluster 1-5 record, but turned things around at the Woodbridge Classic, finishing in third place overall after a 4-1 week.
Edison capped off its weekend with a 7-4 win over North Torrance on Saturday night, a team that owns victories over Marina, Mater Dei and El Modena.
“I think we needed to have some tough games before we got into league play,” Ensey said. “It felt really good seeing the girls perform so well. We started off the season really slow, so to play as well as we did going into to league is promising.”
Spearheading the turnaround was pitcher Kiana Pancino. The sophomore hurler threw three straight shutouts to start the tournament, including a no-hitter against La Habra.
“She’s going to be huge,” Ensey said of Pancino. “She’s grown so much in this last year, even the last two months. If she pitches well, we’ll definitely be a contender in the Sunset League.”
NOTES
Other county players named to the Carew Classic all-tournament team: Olivia Trapp and Bryanna Castro of Esperanza, Dominique Espinoza and Kaylee Carlson of Pacifica, Paulina Anasis and Taylor Swearingnen of Canyon, Maddy Dwyer of Orange Lutheran and Paige von Sprecken of Yorba Linda. …
With most of the tournaments over, league play offers a number of intriguing matchups this week, including a pair of games featuring top 10 teams.
In the Sunset League, No. 4 Marina will travel to Los Alamitos on Thursday afternoon to take on the No. 6 Griffins, a team that was unranked a week ago prior to its eye-opening week at the Carew Classic.
Pacifica’s three losses this season have come against Mission Viejo (twice) and Esperanza, the top-two ranked teams in the county. The No. 3 Mariners will host No. 7 Yorba Linda on Thursday afternoon at Pacifica in a matchup featuring Carlson and von Sprecken, two of the best aces the county has to offer.
Ocean View (13-3, 1-0) handed Santa Ana (13-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season this past Friday. The Sea Hawks could seize early control of the Golden West League on Friday with a win over Loara (9-7). Ocean View third baseman Tobi Salzman leads the league with 24 runs scored, while pitcher Billi Derleth is tops with 24 RBI.
