Senior Day at Los Alamitos saw a number of Griffins players honor their veteran teammates with presents and give speeches that reminisced of the experiences the players shared on and off the softball diamond.
Los Alamitos’ players then went out and secured a playoff berth with a win Thursday, creating a chance to make a few more memories this season.
Behind a four-hitter by freshman pitcher Ryan Denhart, the Griffins solidified their place as the No. 3 representative in the Sunset League with a 1-0 win over No. 5 Huntington Beach in the regular-season finale at Los Alamitos High.
Los Alamitos (20-11, 6-4) also played the role of spoiler by denying the Oilers’ attempt at being the league’s outright champion. Huntington Beach finished with an 8-2 record in league, but Thursday’s loss and Marina’s win over Newport Harbor meant the Oilers and Vikings shared the league title.
“It’s still huge for us,” said Oilers coach Jeff Forsberg, whose team is 20-5 overall. “We should be a high seed (in playoffs) and we should play pretty well. We play in a tough league, so we’ll be ready for it.”
The shared league title is Huntington Beach’s first since 1996.
While Los Alamitos finished behind the Oilers and Vikings in the standings, the Griffins have played some of their best softball over the past three weeks.
“We’re completely healthy now, and once you get to CIF anything can happen,” Griffins coach Rob Weil said. “Ryan is throwing the ball pretty well, we’re starting to play better defense and we are getting some timely hitting. You do those three things, and you can win some ballgames.”
The Griffins scored in the first inning as Jenna Holcomb led off with a single to center and advanced to third on a well-executed hit-and-run with Allisha Martinez.
Senior catcher Rachel Sellers’ chopper to short on the next at-bat scored Holcomb.
Oilers pitcher Micaela Vierra was as impressive as Denhart after the first inning, also scattering four hits.
Also in the Sunset League:
No. 4 Marina 12, Newport Harbor 0: Home runs from Tera Blanco and Keala Cordero highlighted a 15-hit explosion that gave the Vikings (22-6, 8-2) a share of the league title. Blanco scattered three hits over five innings in the mercy-rule shortened game.
In the Empire League:
Yorba Linda 14, Tustin 0: The Mustangs (17-8, 9-3) clinched the league’s No. 3 seed for the playoffs behind Paige von Sprecken’s five-inning shutout. The senior ace struck out 13 and belted a three-run home run in the fourth inning.
In a nonleague game:
No. 3 Pacifica 2, No. 1 Mission Viejo 1 (9 innings): The Mariners (23-4-2) handed the Diablos their first loss of the season in extra innings at Pacifica. Faith Canfield hit a solo home run off Mission Viejo ace Taylor McQuillin in the ninth. The Diablos, who beat the Mariners twice in March, entered the game with a 22-0 record.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
