Orange Lutheran stuns nation's No. 1 team

ANAHEIM HILLS - There were six upsets on Day 1 of the 25th Michelle Carew Classic, but the biggest of them all came when Orange Lutheran pulled out a 2-1 victory over Norco on Thursday at Peralta Park.

Orange Lutheran was not intimidated by Norco, which came into the game undefeated, ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and No. 1 in the nation by ESPN.

"Fortunately, the whole season we've played some tough teams like Marina, Edison and Etiwanda," Lancers coach Steve Miklos said. "Our girls came in pretty calm. They (Norco) had all the pressure on them because being No. 1 puts a lot of pressure on you."

The score was tied, 1-1, heading into the bottom of the seventh. Orange Lutheran's Samantha Arents picked up a lead-off walk and Noelle Wagner singled to get things started.

Bryn Gornick got down a bunt, but Norco's third baseman made a fine play to get the lead runner at third base. Alyssa Taylor hit a grounder down the third-base line and again the Cougars got the lead runner at third base.

The Lancers were down to their last out and Heather Hall hit a sharp grounder up the middle. Norco's shortstop appeared to be in position to make a play, but the ball took a bad hop and she couldn't keep in front of her. That allowed pinch-runner Jessica Whitney to score from second with the winning run.

"We weren't very intimidated," Hall said. "We just decided that we were going to come out and work together and no matter what happens just be happy with the outcome. Throughout the whole entire game we were up and we didn't get down."

Orange Lutheran, ranked No. 4 in the state and No. 15 in the nation, improved to 18-3. Norco fell to 14-1.

In other Michelle Carew Classic games:

Canyon 2, M.L. King of Riverside 1 (8 inn.): Arizona-bound Lauren Young executed a perfect squeeze to score Jillian Rock from third with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth as the Comanches (10-5) pulled out the victory over the Wolves (10-6).

Canyon's freshman ace Hailey Hilburn went the distance, allowing one hit and struck out 12 for the victory. Alexis Osorio, a sophomore who has committed to Alabama, allowed 2 hits and struck out 16 for King.

Pacifica 8, San Clemente 0: Oklahoma State-bound Erika Campbell went 4 for 4 with a run and an RBI and freshman Faith Canfield went 2 for 4 with two runs and a two-run triple as the Mariners (15-1) overwhelmed the Tritons (7-10) in six innings via the mercy rule.

Sophomore Kaylee Carlson pitched a one-hitter with nine strikeouts to record the shutout.  Kellsi Kloss went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and Kristina Akiona went 2 for 3 with two RBIs for the Mariners.

Foothill 6, Oxnard 1: Freshman Molly Sturdivant went 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs, Lauren Howard went 1 for 2 with two RBIs and Kelsey Fredericks went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs to lead the Knights (6-7) past the Yellowjackets (4-6).

Sheldon of Sacramento 7, Kennedy 5: Amber Glenn drove in two runs with a single in the top of the seventh to give the Huskies (9-2) the winning margin against the Fighting Irish (5-6). Sheldon is ranked No. 9 in the state and No. 32 in the nation.

Kennedy 5, Riverside Poly 4: Adriana Burcar scored from third on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give the Fighting Irish (6-6) the victory over the Bears (9-7).

St. Francis of Sacramento 5, El Toro 4: Jillian Renteria's two-run double in the bottom of the fifth tied it and Stephanie Heyward scored from third on a ground out later in the inning to give the Troubadors (10-4) the go-ahead run.

Vista Murrieta of Murrieta 11, Santa Margarita 4: Michigan-bound Sierra Romero hit two homers and drove in four runs and Phalen Cochran hit a two-run homer to lead the Broncos.

Vista Murrieta 4, Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 1: UCLA-bound Selina Ta'amilo allowed two hits and struck out six to get the victory for the Broncos (6-1).

Valencia of Valencia 9, Murrieta Valley of Murrieta 0: Penn State-bound Karlie Habitz hit a three-run homer, freshman Nicole Joseph had a solo homer and Carly Mortensen pitched a one-hitter as the Vikings (11-4) beat the Nighthawks (8-3) in five innings via the mercy rule.

Etiwanda 8, El Camino of Oceanside 6: The Eagles (11-3) had to withstand a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh before pulling out a victory over the Wildcats (6-8). Melissa Taukeiaho went 3 for 4 with three home runs and five RBIs and Delaney Spaulding went went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs to lead Etiwanda.

Alexa LaValle’s grand slam highlighted El Camino’s five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh.

Simi Valley 10, El Camino of Oceanside 0: Nicole Cheek went 3 for 3 with a triple, a home run and four RBIs and Arizona State-bound Jennifer Soria went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs as the Pioneers (12-3) beat the Wildcats (6-9) in four innings via the mercy rule.

Cienega of Vail, Ariz. 10, Riverside Poly 1: Stephanie Tatham had two doubles and four RBIs to help the Bobcats (14-4) avenge one of their losses with a victory over the Bears. Cienega is ranked No. 8 in Arizona.

Sheldon 7, Cienega 2: UC Santa Barbara-bound Meshalon Moore hit a three-run shot to help the Huskies (10-2) defeat the Bobcats (14-5).

Follow Carlos Arias at twitter.com/LosOCVarsity.

Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com