IRVINE – Taylor McQuillin did not have to be overpowering to be effective Saturday. McQuillin just needed to hit her spots to turn in a brilliant pitching performance.
McQuillin, a southpaw from Mission Viejo High, silenced a top offense with her superb command, firing a two-hitter to help the OC Batbusters knock off the Corona Angels, 3-0, in the championship game of the 18 Premier Division of the prestigious Premier Girls Fastpitch national tournament at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
“When you’re facing a good hitting team like the Angels, you can’t be thinking of striking everyone out,” McQuillin said. “The goal was to make them hit my pitch and let my defense do work behind me.”
The game was a pitchers’ duel from the start, as Angels ace Rachel Garcia was able to match McQuillin. However, the Batbusters lineup made adjustments the second time through.
Amanda Lorenz led off the fourth inning with a single to left field and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Fale Aviu. Vista Murrieta standout Sydney Romero smacked a sharp single to right field to bring home Lorenz. Taylor White’s throw had Lorenz beat at the plate, but catcher Lea Wodach couldn’t corral the throw.
“She (Garcia) has a fantastic rise ball, so we just had to lay off it the second time,” Romero said. “I was able to get a pitch that I could drive. It felt really great to get that hit to give my team the early lead.”
The Batbusters continued to adjust in the fifth inning. Chino Hills star Taylon Snow ripped a double to right field to bring in Maddy Jelenicki, and Lorenz doubled in Snow to give the Batbusters a 3-0 lead.
“It can take time to adjust when you’re up against a good pitcher,” Batbusters co-coach Mike Stith said. “We have some really smart hitters here, as do the Angels. We were able to make those adjustments quicker to put some runs on the boards.”
That was more than enough run support for McQuillin, who retired 12 of the final 13 batters she faced. McQuillin finished the game with just four strikeouts, but she induced 12 groundouts.
“She pitched a terrific ball game, and we couldn’t make very much solid contact,” Angels coach Marty Tyson said.
It’s the second national championship in two months for McQuillin, who will begin her senior year at Mission Viejo this month. She helped the Diablos win a national title in June, when they were ranked No.1 by StudentSports.com.
