Through five innings of back-and-forth offensive action, Brea Olinda’s Kara Piper was one of the few players on the diamond who hadn’t produced a hit.
The senior center fielder was 0 for 3 at the plate until the sixth, when she roped a line-drive single to left field.
When she walked up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, the score was tied and the bases were loaded. Piper made the most of her opportunity, lacing a single to center field that drove in the run to give Brea a 6-5 win over El Modena in a nonleague game Tuesday at Brea Olinda High.
The Wildcats improved to 12-5 overall and earned a crucial Century Conference result as they prepare for what is shaping up to be a tight North Hills League race.
“Our girls are in this mindset right now that it doesn’t matter who we’re going to play, we’re going to come out and compete,” Brea coach Jordan Learn said.
Following a 10-day layoff, the Wildcats scored four runs with two outs in the first inning, jumping out to a 4-0 lead.
The Vanguards (8-11) tied the score with four runs in the second, and took a 5-4 lead when Cameryn O’Grady drove in her second run of the game with a base hit to center in the third.
“That’s the one thing I can attest for my team,” Learn continued. “If whoever we’re playing comes back, we do a very good job of saying, ‘OK, now we’re going to go.’”
Wildcats catcher Hailey Jensen went 3 for 4 and blasted a no-doubt home run in the fourth to even the score at 5.
Taylor Williams came on in relief in the fifth for Brea and retired nine of the 11 batters she faced, giving the Wildcats an opportunity to win the game in the seventh.
With one out in the inning, Alyssa Chacon, Hayleigh Balfour and Victoria Minor all proceeded to reach base, setting the stage for Piper to deliver in the clutch.
In other nonleague games:
Yorba Linda 3, El Dorado 0: Ciara Stapp tossed a three-hitter and struck out seven for the host Golden Hawks. Sierra Bauerle and Annie Davilla each went 2 for 4 for Yorba Linda.
Villa Park 6, Esperanza 3: Krista Dalgarn allowed one unearned run in six innings and went 2 for 3 with a double and two runs batted in to lead the Spartans. Villa Park freshman Jolie Grant was 3 for 3 with a double and a pair of runs.
In the Trinity League:
No. 5 Orange Lutheran 2, No. 8 Rosary 0: Junior first baseman Noelle Hee drove in the game’s only two runs, breaking a scoreless tie in the third inning with a two-run single. Lancers righty Maddy Dwyer continued to dominate in the circle, striking out eight and surrendering three hits.
No. 4 Mater Dei 9, JSerra 4: The Monarchs scored eight runs in the top half of the first.
In the South Coast League:
No. 1 Mission Viejo 3, Dana Hills 2: Terra McGowan belted a walk-off, run-scoring double in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the win for the Diablos.
In the Sunset League:
No. 2 Los Alamitos 4, Edison 1: Junior Mary Iakopo went 2 for 3 with a homer and three runs batted in, and pitcher Paige Austin limited the Chargers to one run on five hits.
No. 6 Huntington Beach 10, Marina 3: Senior catcher Anna Kufta went 3 for 4, drove in three runs and scored three as the Oilers extended their win streak to 10 games. Jadelyn Allchin was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBI for Huntington Beach, and Ivy Davis allowed two runs in 51/3 innings.
In the Sea View League:
Laguna Hills 7, Tesoro 0: Erika Morris, Kat Larson and Shannon Wasley each finished with a pair of base hits and accounted for five of the Hawks’ seven runs. Megan Casper pitched a four-hitter for Laguna Hills.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
