La Habra beats Sunny Hills; moves into first place

La Habra was out to avenge its lone Freeway League loss and the Highlanders exacted that revenge with a convincing 7-2 victory over Sunny Hills on Thursday at La Habra High.

"It was really important for us to come out and beat Sunny Hills," Highlanders shortstop Maleena Esparza, who has signed with Northern Illinois, said. "They are our chief rivals. It was a team win."

La Habra (16-8, 5-1) took sole possession of first place in league with the victory over the Lancers (10-9, 4-2), who beat the Highlanders, 6-2, on April 3.

"We're in a good spot," Esparza said. "We just need to keep playing our game."

Racquel Manzo had a two-run single in the bottom of the third to give the Highlanders a 2-0 lead. Sunny Hills' Riley Nahrwold hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth to cut La Habra's lead in half.

Taylor Pierce got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run for the Highlanders in the bottom of the fifth to make it 3-1.

Marshaylee Knighten a freshman who has already committed to Oklahoma, belted a solo homer in the top of the sixth to cut La Habra's lead to 3-2.

The Highlanders exploded for four runs in the bottom of the sixth with Esparza and Amanda Akles each hitting two-run homers.

In another Freeway League game:

Fullerton 6, Sonora 4: Taylor Browne went 4 for 4 with a double as the visiting Indians (11-13, 4-2) took down the Raiders (4-15, 0-5).

In the Century League:

Esperanza 3, El Dorado 2: Bynley Steele doubled and Loyola Marymount-bound Stephanie Macial drove her in with a single in the bottom of the eighth to give the Aztecs (19-6, 8-1) the victory over the visiting Golden Hawks (8-10, 4-5).

Junior Colette Riggs went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs and Maciel also went 2 for 3 for Esperanza. Sophomore Hayley Copeland allowed two hits, home runs to Carly Gonzales and Katie Ramos, and struck out 16 to record the victory.

El Modena 11, Foothill 7: Freshman Megan McCune went 2 for 3 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs and Mikaela Viloria went 2 for 3 with a solo homer as the Vanguards (17-7, 6-2) outslugged the visiting Knights (8-13, 2-6).

Sophia Chiavatti went 2 for 2 with a grand slam and a two-run double for Foothill.

In the Empire League:

No. 1 Pacifica 7, Kennedy 0: Freshman ace Kaley Wagner tossed a one-hitter with eight strikeouts, Oklahoma State-bound Erika Campbell went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and Kellsi Kloss had a three-run triple to lead the Mariners (22-1, 7-0) past the visiting Fighting Irish (12-8, 7-2).

In the Sunset League:

No. 3 Edison 1, Newport Harbor 0: Utah-bound Sammy Cordova pitched a one-hitter and Notre Dame-bound Casey Africano hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to help the visiting Chargers (20-3, 5-1) avoid the upset.

In the Sea View League:

No. 9 Aliso Niguel 6, Dana Hills 5: Minnesota-bound Marissa Gilbuena and Katie Saunders drove in two runs apiece as the Wolverines (18-6, 4-1) withstood a three-run rally by the host Dolphins (5-16, 2-3) in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the victory.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Beckman 2, Woodbridge 1: Western Washington-bound Lauren Bennett and Kira Griswold each had sacrifice flies to drive in runs in the bottom of the third and Griswold allowed four hits and struck out 11 to help the Patriots (11-8, 4-2) defeat the visiting Warriors (13-11, 5-1).

In the South Coast League:

El Toro 7, Trabuco Hills 5: Shelby Jones and Heather Nonora drove in two runs apiece to lift the Chargers (10-13, 4-1) over the visiting Mustangs (10-13, 1-4), who out-hit El Toro, 10-5.

In the Orange League:

Savanna 7, Katella 1: Kirsten Gutierrez allowed three hits, one walk and struck out four to get the complete-game victory, and she went 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI as the visiting Rebels (8-8, 6-0) beat the Knights (11-11, 4-2) to retain sole possession of first place.

Anaheim 9, Magnolia 6: Briana Yneges went 3 for 4 with a solo homer, Nancy Mcbenttes hit a solo homer and Cindy Miranda also had a solo homer as the Colonists (8-10, 2-4) defeated the visiting Sentinels (3-9, 3-3) in a slugfest. Adelina Lyons went 3 for 3 with a double and a home run for Magnolia.