Softball

San Marino 1, Costa Mesa 0 SAN MARINO — Costa Mesa High senior pitcher Kira Mitani allowed no runs through nine innings, but an unearned run in the 10th inning allowed the host Titans to advance in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs Thursday. Junior Sami Feinstein went two for four and Mitani had the Mustangs' other hit and also reached on a walk against freshman standout Michelle Floyd. Floyd struck out 26 and now has 276 strikeouts in 139 innings.

SAN DIEGO - The Vanguard University softball team lost both games of a Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheader to host Pt. Loma Nazarene Saturday. In the first game, the Crusaders (10-6 in conference) had an easy 7-1 victory. Rachel Carver scored Vanguard's only run after doubling in the fifth inning. The Lions (5-9 in conference) were shut out, 2-0, in the second game, when they managed just three hits. GOLDEN STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE First game Pt. Loma Nazarene 7, Vanguard 1 Vanguard 000 010 0 - 1 8 1 Pt. Loma Nazarene 120 040 x - 7 9 1 Atchley, Camarillo (6)

The Vanguard University softball team will host three softball clinics this fall. Two of the clinics will be for girls ages 9-18 and the third will be for junior high and senior high coaches. The first will be held Saturday, Sept. 29, from 8:15 a.m. to noon. Vanguard players will be instructing on the basic fundamental skills of throwing, hitting, fielding, and baserunning. The Lions will focus on more specific skills of the game Saturday, Oct. 6, also from 8:15-noon.

The Fireballs, a girls under-15 fastpitch softball team from the Pacific Coast Bobby Sox, swept a doubleheader from Mission Del Norte, both by scores of 6-5. Julianne Bass (a home run), Ashley Gleason (two doubles) and Hilary Ockey (a triple) heated up the Fireballs' offense. Other offensive spark plugs include Brooke Chandler, Ellen Rose, Sasha Grumman and Katie Joslyn. In girls Division 11 action: Red Rage 13, Tsunami 8 - The Rage won their third consecutive game, led by strong plate appearances by Rene Mycorn and Kate Baldoni.

COSTA MESA - A pair of high school standouts have signed to continue their softball careers at Vanguard University next year. Bakersfield High outfielder Joy Barthelmes, as well as Jennifer Stafford, a catcher from Palo Verde Christian High in Tucson, Ariz, will try to help Coach Beth Renkoski's Lions attain success. Barthelmes, a four-year varsity player, including three league titles, batted .300 for the Drillers and was team captain. Stafford hit .422 en route to all-region honors.

CHULA VISTA - After an 8-0 start, Orange Coast College's softball team dropped its third game in a row to host Southwestern, 7-4. Pitcher Monica Ortega (6-2) pitched a complete game for OCC (8-3), striking out seven. She also drove in two runs. OCC's Kristin Degree went 2 for 4 and stole two bases without getting caught, running her streak to 19 in the theft department. The Pirates are at El Camino today. Nonconference Southwestern 7, OCC 4 OCC 020 020 0 - 4 9 3 Southwestern 610 000 0 - 7 10 0 Ortega and Valdez; Vanderbalt and Ostberg.

LAGUNA BEACH - The Estancia High softball team hung tough with host Laguna Beach before losing, 3-2, in 11 innings Thursday afternoon in Pacific Coast League action. The Eagles (0-6, 0-2 in league) managed to tie the game at 2-2 with a run in the top of the sixth inning, but the Artists (8-6, 1-1) prevailed with a run in the 11th. PACIFIC COAST LEAGUELaguna Beach 3, Estancia 2 Estancia 100 000 100 00 - 2 5 4 Laguna Beach 101 000 000 01 - 3 10 4 Lymon and Acostas; Turner and Friedman.

The Ensign Intermediate softball team overcame a tough opening-game loss to share the eighth-grade championship with TeWinkle for the second straight season. Ensign's offense was led by Julianne Bass with a team-leading .529 batting average. Ashley Gleason had a .750 on-base percentage and scored 10 runs, while Jennifer Ryder was close behind with nine runs. The pitching was led by the duo of Gleason (4-1), who was the team's Most Valuable Player, and Kelly Pfeiffer (1-0)

IRVINE - Tess Lindsay pitched a complete-game five-hitter to lead the Costa Mesa High softball team to a 10-1 Pacific Coast League win over visiting University. Sara Watkins led the Mustangs' offense with two hits, a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs. Cassandra John went 1 for 3 with a run scored and two RBIs, while Katy Renish went 2 for 4 with a run scored and one RBI. The Mustangs (7-6-1, 2-0 in league) will face Northwood at TeWinkle Park on Tuesday, beginning at 3:15 p.m. PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE Costa Mesa 10, University 1 Costa Mesa 101 400 4 - 10 12 3 University 100 000 0 - 1 5 5 Lindsay and S. Watkins; Wood and Watkins.

IRVINE - The Costa Mesa High softball team had some not-so-funny arithmetic tossed its way following Friday's Pacific Coast League contest with Northwood. Five hits, plus eight walks, plus five Timberwolves' errors equaled zero runs in the Mustangs' 6-0 road loss. "I've never seen anything like that before," a bewildered Coach Rick Buonarigo said. "We had the bases loaded four times and we just couldn't find a way to score them." Cassandra John went 2 for 4 and stole four bases to lead the Mustangs (12-8-1, 6-2 in league)

COLUMBUS, Ga. - Concordia University captured the school's first NAIA softball national championship on Thursday, defeating Spring Hill of Alabama, 8-3, in the title game. Freshman third baseman Hannah Howell was two for two with three runs batted in and junior shortstop Jenna Jorgenson was two for four with three RBIs for the winners, who scored five in the fourth inning to break open a 2-2 deadlock. Senior Katie Cotta allowed three hits and one earned run in a complete-game effort to record the victory.

MURRIETA - Calvary Murrieta's star softball pitcher, senior Chelsie Keller, was feeling sick Tuesday morning. So was her batterymate, freshman catcher Sarah McWaters. At about 10:30 a.m. they delivered the bad news to Warriors Coach Celeste Ducharme. "I said, 'Don't go home, let's see how you do in warm-ups,'" Ducharme said. "It was one inning at a time. " Six innings was all it took for the home team in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 wild-card playoff game. Keller threw a no-hitter as the Warriors routed Estancia, 15-0, ending the Eagles' season.

The Estancia High softball team is the lone squad from the Newport-Mesa area to earn a CIF Southern Section playoff spot, as pairings were released Monday. The Eagles (12-9), an at-large team from the Orange Coast League, plays at Calvary Chapel Murrieta (11-10), the Ambassador League third-place team, in a Division 5 wild-card game Tuesday. Estancia finished tied for third with Laguna Beach but lost in a third-place playoff game against the Breakers last week. The Eagles are making their first CIF playoff appearance in four years.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has picked out seven athletics improvement projects to build with a $100,000 grant from Costa Mesa. The money is the first installment of what could add up to half a million dollars in grants from the city in the next five years if Costa Mesa chooses to continue the program as it has projected, according to a resolution the council approved in February. The money is meant to fund capital improvements at Costa Mesa high schools where the public has access during non-school hours.

COSTA MESA - At the end of the sixth inning, the Costa Mesa High softball team gathered near the dugout and yelled, "Estancia!" The players then lined up to slap hands with rival Estancia. The Mustangs believed Thursday's Orange Coast League home game was over. It wasn't, but it might as well have been. The teams played one more inning, going the normal seven. The Eagles added three runs to their 23-12 rout, helping them sweep the Battle for the Bell series against Costa Mesa for the second straight year.

The Vanguard University softball team is the No. 3 seed in a six-team double-elimination tournament that will advance one team into the four-team NAIA softball championship opening-round tournament. The Lions (34-22) will meet William Jessup on Thursday at 11:45 a.m. at Concordia University in Irvine. Vanguard finished second in the Golden State Athletic Conference, which has four teams in the event that runs through Saturday. Concordia, ranked No. 1 nationally, is the top seed. Simpson, representing the California Pacific Conference, is the No. 2 seed.

Hattie Marshall remembers the day her father took her to the library. It was 12 years ago when Brian and his 6-year-old daughter went to check out a book. She doesn't remember the book she came home with that day. What she will never forget is what she picked up from the doorsteps of the library - a new sport to play. "In front of the library, there was a table for softball signups," Marshall said. "My dad asked me if I wanted to try it. It was like T-ball and it sounded fun. " Softball has been a big part of Marshall's life since that trip to the library.

They are fixtures on the left side of the infield for the Newport Harbor High softball team. Seniors Breanna Lopez and Lauren "Lou" Gandi typically play third base and shortstop, respectively. In those positions, they need to be able to communicate. But, for Lopez, a different kind of talk that happened during the teammates' freshman year also made a huge difference. "We were actually in the same French class together," Lopez said. "[Gandi] was just talking about how she played softball and how much fun it was. She just told me to come out and try out. That's what got me out here.

CORONA DEL MAR - On the very first pitch of the game, Newport Harbor High senior Breanna Lopez bunted for a base hit. Her hit caught host Corona del Mar a bit off-guard in the softball Battle of the Bay. By the time the half-inning was over, the Sailors had put up three runs. That turned out to be more than enough. Newport Harbor breezed to a 6-0 victory on Wednesday at CdM, the Sailors' sixth straight Battle of the Bay win. And, though Newport Harbor improved to just 3-8, Coach Russell Hartman said the Sailors have been growing through their tough nonleague schedule.