Ashley Ross’ focus throughout the early part of this season has been centered around the circle, but Tuesday afternoon the senior pitcher showed she can swing it just as good as she can spin it.
Ross drove in two runs in the first inning with a bases-loaded single and used that cushion to guide the Centurions past Edison, 6-2, in a nonleague game at Cypress High.
The Centurions (11-2) will have just over a week off before they take on Corona in a stacked field at the annual Michelle Carew Classic on April 2.
“We lost two games by one run to two real good teams – Huntington Beach and Tesoro,” Coach John Felicetti said. “Other than that, we’re hitting better, pitching is still where it is, and our defense has really been a lot better.”
Cypress put itself ahead in the bottom half of the first inning, loading the bases with two outs with Ross up. With Edison ace Kiana Pancino in the circle, Ross drove a two-run single to center field to give the Centurions a 2-0 lead.
“Lately she’s been wanting to concentrate on pitching and not hitting,” Felicetti added. “But today she said she wanted to hit, and I’m glad she did. That two-run single got us going.”
After allowing a run and four hits to the Chargers in the second inning, Ross limited Edison (5-5) to just two hits and one run over the final five innings. A couple of dazzling defensive plays by third baseman Yliana Bernal and shortstop Paige Hallam kept the Chargers at arm’s length.
Pancino scattered just six hits over seven innings of work, but a pair of defensive blunders in the bottom of the fourth inning put the game out of reach. Trailing 3-1 with runners on first and second, the junior pitcher fielded a tapper back to the circle, but sailed the throw to first, allowing one run to score while putting two others in scoring position.
With two outs in the inning, Cypress first baseman Sarah Hamre blooped a single to left-center field that tipped off of Courtney Leyba’s glove, allowing two more runs to score.
“We made too many errors to beat a team like Cypress,” Chargers coach Kim Ensey said. “Cypress is one of those teams you have to play your best game against, and we just didn’t do it.
In other nonleague games:
No. 8 San Clemente 8, Dana Hills 3: The Tritons scored seven straight runs over the fourth and fifth innings, erasing a 3-1 deficit to top the host Dolphins. San Clemente senior Lauren Kane went 2 for 3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. She also threw four shutout innings in relief.
Santa Margarita 7, Laguna Hills 1: Eagles pitcher Jayme Cone struck out 10 batters, while Sarah Cwiertnia, Alex Heinen and Megan McClure combined for eight of Santa Margarita’s 12 hits and five of its RBI.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
