Her previous two at-bats had resulted in a pair of frustrating, uncharacteristic outs.
Orange Lutheran shortstop Mackenzie Boesel struck out swinging in the third inning, and in the fifth, she hit a weak pop fly to short.
Like all great hitters do, Boesel made her adjustments in the box and capitalized on another opportunity when the game was on the line.
Knotted at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Boesel belted a three-run home run to right-center field, giving the fifth-ranked Lancers a 7-4 victory over No. 7 Santa Margarita in a Trinity League game Tuesday at Orange Lutheran High.
The Lancers (21-2, 2-1) scored the game’s final six runs to put themselves in a three-way tie atop the league standings with the Eagles (15-6, 2-1) and No. 9 Mater Dei.
“We showed a lot of character today,” Orange Lutheran coach Steve Miklos said. “We were down 4-1 and kept battling. Our offense is good enough where I tell the girls, ‘We’re not out of any game. We can score at any time.’”
Santa Margarita jumped out to a 4-1 lead after Alex Heinen and Devan Sperry hit a pair of two-run homers off of Lancers sophomore ace Maddy Dwyer in the first and third innings.
“Those are good hitters and I need to realize that I can’t really leave the ball waist-high on the plate,” explained Dwyer, who blanked the Eagles from the fourth on and tallied 12 strikeouts. “I think it’s just important I do a better job of mentally preparing – knowing I have to hit the corners against the No. 1 and No. 2 batters.”
Sandwiched between the Santa Margarita shots was Desiree Buboi’s solo home run to right-center in the second inning. Dwyer helped her cause in the fourth, drilling a two-run homer to left field to cut the deficit to 4-3.
The Lancers tied the score in the fifth inning on Lauren Espalin’s sacrifice fly to right field, which scored Alyssa Millan.
In the sixth, senior left fielder Hanna Boyd roped a double to right-center field and pinch hitter Amelia Van Orman drew a two-out walk to set the stage for Boesel at the top of the order.
“I was just focused on having a good at-bat and trying to produce for my team so we could go-ahead going into the seventh,” Boesel said.
The junior’s seventh home run of the season gave Dwyer plenty of cushion in the seventh, where she proceeded to strike out the side.
“After that (Mater Dei) loss we were down,” Boesel added, referring to a 2-1 loss to the Monarchs on Friday. “But we came back and it’s just a good feeling to come out and get this win against a tough team.”
Also in the Trinity League:
JSerra 5, Rosary 2: The Lions snapped a 15-game league losing streak as senior pitcher Lindsey Ward struck out eight and limited the Royals to five hits. Sami Darrow and Sidney Ward each had multiple base hits for JSerra (10-9, 1-2), whose last league victory was in April of 2013.
In the South Coast League:
No. 1 Mission Viejo 4, No. 6 Capistrano Valley 1: Kayleen Shafer and Kyra Snyder put the Diablos (20-0, 3-0) ahead for good with a pair of RBI singles in the top of the sixth. The Cougars entered the game with a nine-game winning streak.
In the Freeway League:
Sunny Hills 4, La Habra 3: The Lancers (12-8, 3-0) scored four runs in the second inning, and sophomore Lauren Huerta pitched 22/3 innings of scoreless relief to help Sunny Hills claim sole possession of first place in league.
Molly Grumbo went 3 for 3 at the plate, including a home run in the second inning. Shay Knighten and Amber Elliot each went 2 for 4 for Sunny Hills.
In the North Hills League:
Foothill 4, Villa Park 1: Sophomore pitcher Anissa Amarillas struck out seven and limited the Spartans (10-7, 0-2) to one run over seven innings for the Knights (12-9, 1-1).
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
