The way Irvine has been hitting recently, it was never a matter of if, but when.
Scoreless and trailing by three runs in the fourth, the Vaqueros offense came to life, riding a seven-run inning to knock off Northwood, 8-5, in a critical Pacific Coast League showdown Thursday afternoon at Northwood High.
With the win, Irvine (11-12, 6-0) jumped out to a two-game lead over the Timberwolves in the league standings with four games left in the regular season.
“It gives us some cushion, No. 1,” Vaqueros coach Jim Knapp said. “I don’t want to say it gives us room to relax. (Going 10-0) is the goal. That’s all the girls want at this point, and they’ve been adamant about that.”
Northwood (7-14, 4-2) jumped out to a 3-0 lead, scoring a run in each of the first three frames, while freshman pitcher Emma McMurray did a good job of mixing her off-speed pitches and keeping the Vaqueros batters off balance.
Overanxious in the first three innings, Irvine started working counts in the fourth. Maya Canul, Cheyenne Rogacki and Bronwyn Jarvis loaded the bases with one out in the inning. A hit batsmen and an error brought in the first two runs for the Vaqueroas, and the bases remained loaded for Jordann Utterback.
The senior shortstop walloped a bases-clearing double to left-center field to give Irvine its first lead of the game, 5-3. A single by Amanda Morgan kept the rally alive, and Chloe Dossett broke the inning open with a two-run double to left field, completing the seven-run rally.
“That’s what its been like for us,” Knapp said. “We stress patience. There are good pitchers in our league, but we tell the girls they’re going to get tired at some point and are going to leave something over the plate. That’s what happened with Jordann and Chloe, and they both came through in big spots.”
During their six-game winning streak, Irvine has scored 64 runs.
Also in the Pacific Coast League:
Beckman 9, University 4: Senior Marissa Frausto went 4 for 4, including three triples, and drove in a pair of runs for the Patriots. Madelyn Holzberg pitched a two-hitter.
South Coast League:
No. 1 Mission Viejo 4, Dana Hills 3 (9 innings): For the second time this season, the Diablos needed extra innings to get past the Dolphins. Junior third baseman Camryn Ybarra went 2 for 3 with a solo home run, and Peyton Cody drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth to keep Mission Viejo atop the league standings.
In nonleague:
Yorba Linda 2, Villa Park 1 (10 innings): Ashlyn Monroe’s RBI single in the 10th gave the Mustangs a walk-off victory. Yorba Linda’s Ciara Stapp struck out 11 and surrendered one run.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
