North wins back-to-back titles
North High’s softball team mobs pitcher Hayley Rodriguez after defeating league rival El Segundo 5-3 to win its second consecutive CIF championship. Photo by Randy Angel
Although El Segundo (28-4) defeated North 4-0 and 4-3 in league games, the Saxons prevailed in the contest that mattered most, just as they did the previous season when league champion Torrance knocked off North twice in the regular season and the Saxons captured the Division V title.
“The kids had an overall sense of confidence,” North coach Howard Miller said. “They never felt they had lost to a better team. I think getting swept during the regular season added motivation.”
The game was expected to be low-scoring affair, featuring two of the area’s top pitchers. El Segundo ace Jenna Rich, who will attend Stanford in the fall, entered the game with a 20-2 record, 0.43 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 147 innings.
North countered with Hayley Rodriguez who had thrown four straight shutouts in the post season to improve her season record to 13-6 with a 1.23 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 131 innings. Rodriquez will join her sister Valerie, the Saxon’s starting second baseman in 2008, at Simpson University.
Surprisingly, North (22-13) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, added two more in the second and one in the third. “I think the combination of Jenna being a little off her game and our girls being pumped up to strike first made the difference in the game” Miller said. “With El Segundo being the home team, we wanted to take the hammer away from them. The early runs gave Hayley a boost because she had to be so perfect in the previous playoff games.”
North had scored only seven runs in its four playoff games that included a 9-inning 2-0 victory and a 1-0 win in 12 innings.
El Segundo provided the predominantly South Bay crowd with an exciting finish when Gabby Valerio hit a home run to lead off the seventh inning. The run ended Rodriguez’s playoff scoreless innings streak at 39 and began a last-ditch rally for the Eagles.
“Never give up. Remember Florida against Alabama,” El Segundo Coach Keith Cameron yelled to the dugout from the third base coach’s box, referring to the Gator’s come-from-behind victory the previous weekend in the NCAA Women’s College World Series.
A single, two errors and two walks – including a bases-loaded pass to Rich who entered the game batting .444 with four home runs – gave El Segundo two more runs and loaded the bases when North shortstop Coco Taualii gathered in a soft fly ball to stave off the comeback.
It’s unusual for two teams from the same league to advance through opposite sides of the playoff brackets and face each other in the championship, particularly two years in a row. Miller feels, however, that it lessens the burden on the coaches.
“The girls are so familiar with each other that it comes down to who goes out and executes,” Miller said. “It’s a little less stressful for the coaches because we don’t have to prepare scouting reports in a couple of days’ time.”
Rodriguez, catcher Olivia Alvarez and outfielder Lexi Vernon were more than familiar with many of the El Segundo players, dating back to their early playing days in the North Torrance and El Segundo girls softball leagues. All three earned college scholarships after four-year varsity careers. Alvarez will play at Loyola while Vernon will attend Concordia University in Irvine.
“Playing El Segundo was a huge advantage for us,” Alvarez said. “I have faced Jenna for four years now and that last game was a great hitting game for us.”
Miller acknowledged what his players brought to North’s softball program and compared the back-to-back titles. “Last year’s championship was probably more exciting because it was the first CIF softball title for the school and we hadn’t been able to get past the quarterfinals three years in a row,” Miller said. “Personally, this year holds a special meaning for me, knowing what it meant to Hayley. She has put in so many hours of hard work and I know how much she wanted to be the starting pitcher last year. This was her moment to shine in the circle.”
Alvarez shared the same sentiments. “Winning the first year was more memorable, but winning a second time is icing on the cake.”
Miller found this year’s run more difficult after the Pioneer League teams moved up to Division IV this season. “The playoffs in Division IV were much tougher. There was no margin for error. Last year we had a couple of breathers in the opening rounds (5-0 victories) but there were no easy games this year.”
A tough non-league schedule helped prepare North for its post-season run. The Saxons played 10 games against top-teams ranked in the Top 10 in CIF Southern Section polls and two against seeded teams in L.A. City, including City champion San Pedro.
At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t too sure how we’d do,” Vernon admitted. “”But as the season continued on and Hayley kept doing good and everybody starting hitting, I knew we’d go far. We faced many great pitchers so when it came time to play teams like Rancho Alamitos and La Quinta, it was a little bit easier.”
North’s CIF championship was the seventh team title captured by South Bay schools during the 2008-09 school year. Other champion included Chadwick (Div. IV girls cross country), Torrance (girls golf and Div. III boys swimming), South (Div. V girls soccer) and Serra (Div. IV boys and girls track & field).
Track and Field
A number of local athletes saved their best for last when they competed in the CIF State Meet last weekend at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
After setting a school record in the girls 1,600 with a mark of 4:50.00 during the qualifier on Friday, Redondo’s Chloe Curtis broke her own record in the final, placing second in the 1,600 with a personal best of 4:49.02, just 1.35 seconds off the winning time.
Bay League adversary Rebecca Mehra, of Palos Verdes, finished 8th (4:56.75) after running a personal best of 4:51.32 in the qualifier.
Mira Costa’s Savannah Pio saved her personal best for the final, finishing the girls 3,200 in 10:39.58 for a 10th-place finish.
Also recording personal bests were Jasmine Burrell and David Cardona of North High. Burrell placed 3rd in the girls shot-put with a toss of 45-1.25 while Cardona finished 4th in the boys 3,200, clocking in at 4:09.42. Redondo’s Cody Schmidt finished 23rd in the race with a time of 9:19.30.
Baseball
After reaching the CIF championship game for the first time in school history, Torrance could not protect a two-run lead, surrendering four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning in a 4-2 loss to San Dimas in the Division IV final Saturday at Angel Stadium.
Torrance (26-8) was riding a 12-game winning streak entering the contest but was limited to three hits. Tartar ace Andrew Pulida, who led Torrance to the Pioneer League title, lost his first game in 14 decisions. ER
