Prep Softball : Edison Tightens Race for First Against Fountain Valley

The Edison High School softball team gave its coach, Missy Ford, a whipped-cream pie in the face for her 23rd birthday. But that was before Friday’s game against Sunset League-leading Fountain Valley.

After the game, the Chargers had given Ford a much nicer present: a 2-1 victory in 10 innings at Fountain Valley and renewed hope of winning the league title.

The win puts Edison (14-7-1 overall, 4-3-1 in the league) in second place, a game behind Fountain Valley (19-6-1, 5-2-1) with two to play.

“The girls were very pumped up for this,� Ford said. “They have been waiting for this game since the last one.�

The last meeting between the two teams was three weeks ago and ended--after 19 innings--in a scoreless tie, which was frustrating for both teams.

And Friday, the teams looked as if they might play another marathon. Edison took a 1-0 lead in the second inning and held the lead until the seventh, when Fountain Valley rallied to tie the score.

With one out, Fountain Valley’s Sami Sawyer hit a 3-and-2 pitch for a triple to right field. Laura Bruce came in to run for Sawyer and scored on Terry Carpenter’s wild pitch to even the score, 1-1.

It was one of the few mistakes Carpenter (12-6) made. The senior pitcher struck out 14 and scattered 6 hits, none in the three extra innings.

Carpenter was equally impressive at the plate. She was 3 for 4 with a walk and got on base each time she came to the plate, once on a fielder’s choice.

Carpenter gained the victory after Jyll Pattinson scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th. Pattinson singled, stole second and scored on Krista Eckert’s single. Carpenter then got the first two Fountain Valley batters she faced in the bottom of the inning to ground out, and Trisha Staake popped up to end the game.

The loss was the second in a row for the Barons, who lost, 1-0, to Westminster on Tuesday. But Coach Cary Baker said the two losses occurred in different ways.

“When you lose to Carpenter, she beats you,� Baker said. “Not to take anything away from Westminster, but we beat ourselves Tuesday. We weren’t smart.�

In other Sunset League games:

Huntington Beach 1, Ocean View 0 (8 innings)--Shane Bradley singled home Pam Fogg with two out in the eighth inning to give host Huntington Beach (11-11, 3-5) the victory. Fogg (11-11) threw a 2-hitter, striking out 6, for the victory.

Marina 2, Westminster 1 (9 innings)--Susan Walters scored on an error with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give host Marina (10-10, 4-4) the win. Julie Muche (6-4) threw a 3-hitter, striking out 6, for the victory.

In the Sea View League:

Saddleback 4, Estancia 3--Blanca Silva pitched 1 innings of hitless relief to save the victory for host Saddleback. Silva replaced winning pitcher Cindy Salazar (9-5) with a runner on first and one out in the sixth. She retired the last five batters. Angela Vasquez hit a grand slam in the fifth to erase a 1-0 Estancia lead. Marie Midland had 2 hits, including a 2-run homer in the sixth, for Estancia (6-7 in the league).

University 1, Tustin 0--Shareen Patton threw a 3-hitter, striking out 5 and walking 1, as University (13-6, 11-2) ended Tustin’s 12-game winning streak at Tustin. Tina Cooper drove in the winning run with a one-out single in the fifth inning. Jayme Ondracek threw a 6-hitter, striking out 3, but took the loss for Tustin (12-1 in the league).

In the South Coast League:

San Clemente 1, Irvine 0--Wendy Moon tripled and scored on a groundout by Wendy Stewart in the first inning for host San Clemente (17-6, 7-1), which leads Mission Viejo by one game with two games left. Niqua Monson (9-3) pitched a 4-hitter for the victory.

Mission Viejo 6, El Toro 2--Renee Pina was 3 for 3, scored a run and had an RBI to lead Mission Viejo (16-6, 6-2). Hilary Schaefer and Tamar deFries had 2 hits and 2 RBIs each for Mission Viejo.

Capistrano Valley 8, Dana Hills 4--Stacey Martinick had 2 RBIs to lead host Capistrano Valley (17-6, 5-3). Christi Sprain and Tanya Mitchell each had 2 hits for the Cougars. Jennifer Smith (16-6) went the distance, striking out 10, for the victory.