Griffins Roll Into Softball Semifinals

Los Alamitos freshman catcher Rachel Sellers highlighted an offensive explosion with two singles and a home run as the Griffins rolled past Riverside Poly, 9-0, in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division I softball playoffs Thursday afternoon at Riverside Poly High.

The Griffins advanced to the semifinals, where they will face Canyon of Anaheim, an 8-1 winner over Kennedy in the quarterfinals, on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Canyon High.

After two scoreless innings Thursday, the Griffins began to get to Poly starting pitcher Cori Reinhardt when senior first baseman Kailey Willingham singled to lead off the third. Senior third baseman Dana Rex singled to put two runners on with no outs. One out later, No. 2 batter, senior Allison Brown, was intentionally walked to load the bases. One out after that, however, the Bears' strategy backfired when freshman right fielder Infinity Laufou drew a walk and a run batted in. That was followed by an error at first base that allowed Brown to score and give the Griffins a 2-0 lead.

Los Alamitos added another run in the top of the fourth after Rex drew a two-out walk. Sophomore left fielder Erika Crissman lined a double to the fence to score Rex for a 3-0 lead.   

“That’s how we’ve been all year long, it’s up and down the lineup, it’s not always just one or two players,” Griffins coach Rob Weil said.

Laufou led off the fifth inning with a walk, which was followed by a home run to center by Sellers that pushed the Griffins’ lead to 5-0. Sellers went three for four with three RBIs.

Brown had a double in the sixth inning and later scored on a two-run single by Laufou. Laufou scored on a single by Sellers and Sellers later scored on an errant pick-off attempt at third base that gave the Griffins a 9-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Los Alamitos' freshman pitcher, Andie Formby, thew a three-hitter, two of which came in the Bears’ final at-bat. She retired the Poly in order in four different innings and pitched out a jam in the bottom of the seventh inning by getting a popup and groundball to third base to end the game.

Formby also received some defensive help, including an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Bears had two runners on base with one out.

The fourth-seeded Griffins (27-3-1) have had little trouble in their first three playoff games. Los Alamitos has outscored its three opponents by a combined score of 23-3. Senior co-captain Willingham said the Griffins might be playing their best softball of the season right now.  “We know we’ve worked hard for this," she said. "It’s all about having faith in your team, and we all have faith.”