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PREP SOFTBALL: Torrey Pines claims first section title with 10-inning win over Carlsbad
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LA JOLLA ---- In baseball slang, a yacker is a hard-breaking curveball from the pitcher. At Torrey Pines High, a yacker is the center fielder. And because of Julia Yacker's two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning, the top-seeded Falcons made history with a 1-0 win over Carlsbad in the CIF San Diego Section Division I softball final Tuesday night at UC San Diego. Yacker drove in freshman catcher Shelby Evans, whose one-out single started the final rally. What made the first softball title in school history even more special was that it came three days after a fire blew out a generator at UCSD on Saturday, forcing the title game to be postponed for 72 hours. In the end, it didn't matter how long the wait was. Except to Yacker, a junior who missed a squeeze bunt in the section final two years ago. "Her dad has been telling me for two years Julia would redeem herself,' said Torrey Pines coach Jon Moore, whose team finished with a 31-6 record. "I've waited 16 years for this moment, so waiting three more days was no big deal. "This has been a magical year. We set a school record for wins, the seniors won 104 games on varsity, I got my 300th coaching win, we won three league titles in four years and now we have a CIF title.' For much of the game, it looked as if Carlsbad (19-11) would be crowned champion. The Lancers had golden scoring opportunities in the third, fourth, seventh and ninth innings. Each time, Falcons starter Rachel Nasland (17-2) halted the threats. Nasland allowed eight hits and walked one, but struck out 15. "We hung in there, hung in there, hung in there and hung in there,' Moore said. "Rachel gutted it out all night. "That's why she's the best pitcher in the county.' Yacker's game-winning single was only the fifth in the game against Carlsbad's Shelley Proctor, who fell to 10-8. That single wiped out the memory of Yacker's missed bunt chance in 2010 in a 1-0 loss to El Camino. "It was tough to live with because I felt like I lost CIF that year,' Yacker said. "That's why I was nervous in the 10th. I didn't want that feeling to come back again. "When I hit it, I watched the ball, and when I saw the outfielders running toward the outfield fence I knew it was over.' Nasland was too busy running onto the field to know where the hit landed. "I was on the field as soon as she hit it,' Nasland said. "I was hoping it was over at that point because I was all the way out on the field.' Carlsbad nearly broke through in the third and fourth innings. With one out and the bases loaded in the third, Emma Schneider's liner to center field was caught by Yacker and turned into an inning-ending double play. In the fourth, the Lancers got a pair of one-out singles, but Nasland got a strikeout and a groundout to escape that threat. Torrey Pines threatened in the fifth inning with Kelsey Buchanan's single and an error. A strikeout, a foiled stolen base try and another strikeout ended that inning. "Carlsbad never backed down,' Nasland said. "We just made Torrey Pines history.' And Yacker can forgive herself. "I'm so excited for everyone who has waited a long time for this,' Yacker said. "It's crazy that it's never happened before, winning CIF. "They had us by the throat a couple of times, but this team has always found a way to come through when it has to.' |
UT San Diego - Division I: Torrey Pines outlasts Carlsbad for title
The way Carlsbad and Torrey Pines battled each other in the second round of the San Diego Section Division I softball playoffs, everyone should have expected another low scoring, extra-inning affair in the championship game.
And that’s exactly what they got.
After a campus-wide power outage Saturday forced postponement of the game, the teams met again Tuesday night at UCSD — with the overhead, field lights working this time around.
Behind the strong pitching of junior Rachel Nasland, Torrey Pines defeated Carlsbad 1-0 in 10 innings to win the first softball title in school history.
“That was quite a championship game,” said Torrey Pines coach Jon Moore, whose team battled through the elimination rounds after losing to the Lancers 2-1 in nine innings on May 19.
Carlsbad threatened first, loading the bases with one out in the third inning off Nasland. But the opportunity was squandered when a line drive caught by Torrey Pines center fielder Julia Yacker resulted in an inning-ending double play.
The Falcons had a bit more difficulty waking up the bats against Carlsbad junior pitcher Shelley Procter, who did not allow a Falcons base runner until sophomore designated player Kelsey Buchanan singled in the bottom half of the fifth inning.
In the top of the ninth, Carlsbad sophomore third baseman Iesha Hill doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. But Nasland again stopped the Lancers dead in their tracks by getting the next two batters to end the inning.
Torrey Pines would not be denied in the bottom of the 10th when Yacker doubled in freshman catcher Shelbianne Evans with two out to give the Falcons the title.
Nasland finished with 15 strikeouts, allowing 10 hits. Procter allowed only five hits and struck out five.
“Words can’t describe how I feel,” Nasland said. “This is the first time in school history Torrey Pines has won the championship, so we made school history and it feels amazing.”
Ryan Schuler is a U-T San Diego intern.
NC Times LOCAL SCOREBOARD: May 24 results
Torrey Pines 4, Mira Mesa 2
Torrey Pines;010;210;0 ---- 4 8 0
Mira Mesa;000;002;0 ---- 2 3 2
TORREY PINES ---- Emily Wolking 4-1-1-0, Kelsey Buchanan 3-0-0-0, Lauren Filicia 3-0-2-0, Lauren Hynes 3-1-2-1, Shelby Evans 3-1-1-1, Taylor Lee 1-1-1-2, Lauren Bower 3-0-0-0, Julia Yacker 3-0-0-0, Emma Wong 3-0-1-0, Andrea Bower 0-0-0-0. Totals: 26-4-8-4.
2B ---- Torrey Pines, Lauren Hynes. HR ---- Torrey Pines, Taylor Lee.
Torrey Pines;IP;H;ER;BB;SO
Rachel Nasland W, 16-2;7;3;2;1;15
Records: Mira Mesa 26-7; Torrey Pines 29-6.
==
Semifinals
Torrey Pines 3, Poway 1
Poway;000;001;0 ---- 1 0 2
Torrey Pines;200;100;x ---- 3 0 2
POWAY ---- Kristen Shiotani 4-0-0-0, Chase Snell 3-1-3-0, Britnea Barilli 3-0-1-1, Kathryn Duran 3-0-1-0, Ashley Johnson 3-0-0-0, Danielle White 3-0-0-0, Li'anna Martinez 3-0-0-0, Catherine Seitz 3-0-0-0, Lindsay Pelchat 1-0-0-0, Alayna Brenman 2-0-0-0, Jillian Zamora 0-0-0-0. Totals:28-1-5-1.
TORREY PINES ---- Emily Wolking 3-0-1-0, Kelsey Buchanan 2-1-0-0, Lauren Filicia 2-1-1-0, Lauren Hynes 2-1-1-0, Shelby Evans 2-0-0-0, Taylor Lee 3-0-0-0, Kaitlin Schreiber 2-0-1-1, Julia Yacker 2-0-0-0, Emma Wong 2-0-0-0, Lauren Bower 0-0-0-0, Rachel Nasland 0-0-0-0, Kylie Robinson 0-0-0-0. Totals: 20-3-4-1.
2B ---- Poway, Chase Snell. SB ---- Poway, Ashley Johnson. Torrey Pines, Lauren Hynes 3, Shelby Evans.
Poway;IP;H;ER;BB;SO
Brianna Parkes L;6;4;1;4;4
Torrey Pines;IP;H;ER;BB;SO
Taylor Lee W, 7-3;5;5;1;0;9
Rachel Nasland Sv, 4;2;0;0;0;3
Records: Poway 17-11; Torrey Pines 30-6.
PREP SOFTBALL: Torrey Pines advances with win over Fallbrook
Torrey Pines High's Taylor Lee delivers a pitch against Fallbrook on Tuesday. BILL WECHTER | bwechter@nctimes.com
CARMEL VALLEY ---- Seeded No. 1 in the CIF San Diego Section Division I softball playoffs, Torrey Pines High coach Jon Moore was rather direct before Tuesday's third-round game with Fallbrook.
"We got ourselves in a little bit of a pickle," Moore said.
The Falcons lost on Saturday to slip into the losers' bracket of the double-elimination tournament, facing elimination in every game.
But Torrey Pines turned a negative into a positive Tuesday, getting a strong pitching performance from Taylor Lee and clutch hitting from Kelsey Buchanan, Lauren Hynes, Lee and Shelbianne Evans to beat Fallbrook 5-2.
Lee (7-3) had a no-hitter through five innings.
Torrey Pines, which won its 28th game to tie a school record, advances to Thursday's fourth round, playing No. 2-seeded Mira Mesa at 3 p.m. at the Poway Sportsplex in an elimination game.
A win at 3 p.m. would put the Falcons into the semifinals at 7 p.m. against the loser of the Carlsbad-Poway game.
"We're turning this into a positive," Moore said. "If we can beat Mira Mesa, we'll have some momentum, get 2½ hours off, then play a team that lost the 5 p.m. game and has to turn around and play right away.
"I like that scenario."
The scenario for Fallbrook this season was a successful one.
The Warriors finished 21-13 and made the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
"We made great progress this season," said Fallbrook co-coach Patti Drew, who works with Shannon Koran. "We only have four seniors on the team, we won a playoff game and played Torrey Pines tough.
"We forced them to bring in (Rachel) Nasland to get out of a jam. That showed they respected us.
"These are all things we can build on."
With Torrey Pines leading 3-0, Fallbrook's April Mattson started the sixth with a bunt single to break up Lee's no-hitter, and Hailey Drew followed with a single to left.
Moore then summoned Nasland, a 15-game winner. A Lizzy Hutzer single scored two and cut the Falcons' lead to 3-2.
Torrey Pines answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-RBI double by Evans, a freshman catcher.
"I didn't want to come out in the sixth, but Rachel is so good," Lee said. "Coach made the right move, and Rachel took care of business..
"I like pitching in these kinds of games. I like the pressure, the adrenaline rush."
With the possibility of two games Thursday and a title game Saturday, Lee could be in the pressure cooker again.
"We have three legit pitchers ---- Nasland, Lee and Lauren Hynes ," Moore said. "Lee is going to California, Hynes is going to Boston University, and Nasland (a junior) has committed to Notre Dame.
"So if we can score two or three runs, we feel pretty good about our chances. Our playoff loss was 2-1 to Carlsbad, so we just need a little more. We run a lot (the Falcons have 106 stolen bases this season). That's part of our offense.
"Pitching and clutch hitting has been a good formula all season. Now we need to make it work three more times."
NC Times LOCAL SCOREBOARD: May 22 results
Torrey Pines 5, Fallbrook 2
Fallbrook 000 002 0 ---- 2 3 1
Torrey Pines 001 202 x ---- 5 10 0
FALLBROOK (ab-r-h-rbi) ---- Hailey Drew 3-1-1-0, Kristin George 2-0-0-0, Kaylie Drew 2-0-0-0, Brittini Arena 3-0-0-0, Lizzy Hutzler 3-0-1-2, Lauren Hirota 2-0-0-0, Nikki Myers 2-0-0-0, Brooke Koran 1-0-0-0, April Mattson 3-1-1-0, Cara Verdugo 1-0-0-0, Dani DeVera 1-0-0-0. Totals: 23-2-3-2.
TORREY PINES ---- Emily Wolking 3-0-0-0, Kelsey Buchanan 3-0-1-1, Lauren Filicia 3-2-3-0, Lauren Hynes 3-1-2-1, Shelby Evans 3-1-1-2, Taylor Lee 3-0-2-1, Kaitlin Schreiber 3-0-0-0, Julia Yacker 2-0-0-0, Lauren Bower 2-1-1-0. Totals: 25-5-10-4.
3B ---- Torrey Pines, Lauren Bower. 2B ---- Torrey Pines, Lauren Filicia, Shelby Evans. SB ----Torrey Pines, Taylor Lee 2.
Fallbrook;IP;H;ER;BB;SO
Brooke Koran L, 18-13;6;10;5;0;0
Torrey Pines;IP;H;ER;BB;SO
Taylor Lee W, 7-3;5;2;2;1;5
Rachel Nasland S, 2;2;1;0;1;2
