Announcement
No. 2 pitcher gives boost to No. 1 seed Torrey Pines
By Glae Thien, Special to the U-T
After Torrey Pines experienced a taxing extra-inning playoff loss, backup pitcher Taylor Lee drew the start and the responsibility for helping get the top-seeded Falcons back on track.
The senior right-hander responded by taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing a pair of hits and yielding to ace Rachel Nasland as host Torrey Pines topped Fallbrook 5-2 in a San Diego Section Division I elimination game Tuesday.
“We seniors want to go all the way,” said Lee, who also singled twice and drove in a run. “Our mindset wasn’t, ‘Oh, we just lost.’ It was, ‘OK, we still have a chance. We’re going to take one step at a time and we’ll keep going.’ ”
Lee, charged with two runs in five-plus innings, extended her workload an inning beyond the pregame plan by Falcons coach Jon Moore. In turn, that meant further rest for Nasland, who threw some 200 pitches in the first two postseason games, including a 2-1 setback to Carlsbad in nine innings on Saturday.
The pitching-rich Falcons (28-6) advanced to the fourth round on Thursday at Sportsplex USA in Poway against Mira Mesa. Along with Lee (7-3) and Nasland (15-2), Lauren Hynes also contributes to a staff that has only allowed 41 runs on the season.
Senior Lauren Filcia went 3-for-3 and scored twice for the Falcons, who mounted an eight-hit attack against No. 11 Fallbrook (21-13). Shelby Evans helped seal the win with a two-run double in the sixth.
“I don’t want the year to end,” Filcia said. “So I just do my best, and hopefully, we’ll keep winning.”
