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Sports

Los Alamitos Suffers a Hard Hit in Softball Semifinals Setback

Griffins pitchers get taken deep for six home runs during 13-5 loss to Anaheim Canyon in semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

Canyon High's softball team simply would not be stopped. The Comanches sent 12 batters to the plate in the second inning, when they hit three of their six home runs and plated eight runs to propel themselves to a 13-5 victory over Los Alamitos in a CIF Southern Section Division I semifinal playoff game on Tuesday at Canyon High.

The Griffins tried three pitchers but could not keep the Comanche hitters off the basepaths. Some key errors and misplays in the field also conspired to end Los Alamitos' season one game short of the finals. The Griffins fought back to pull to within 8-3, but Canyon extended its lead in the fourth and fifth innings.

Junior second baseman Lauren Young had two home runs for the Comanches and junior third baseman Kelly Stowe added a three-run shot in the fifth inning to put an exclamation point on their offense. The Griffins' pitching and defense had been stellar in the playoffs, allowing only three runs in three games. But Los Alamitos coach Rob Weil said it just wasn’t their day on Tuesday.

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“It was a great run for us.… The kids prepared harder than any team I’ve ever coached,” he said.

Los Alamitos (27-4-1) had taken a 1-0 lead after the first inning when its leadoff hitter, sophomore outfielder Erika Crissman, walked and later scored on a single by sophomore second baseman Megan Geer. Starting pitcher Andie Formby set the Comanches down in order in the bottom of the first, but that would be one of the few quiet innings for Canyon.

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“They were prepared. Every bat that they put on the ball was a solid contact,” Weil said of Canyon.

Trailing 8-1 after two innings, the Griffins fought back in the top of the third. Senior first baseman Kailey Willingham and Crissman had singles to put two runners on with one out. Senior shortstop Allison Brown then doubled to the center-field fence to drive in both runners. Brown would also homer in the top of the seventh inning, her final high school at-bat. She has been key leader of a Griffins team that was loaded with talented underclassmen.

After freshman outfielder Infinity Laufou was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth inning, senior outfielder Alicia Walker drove her in one out later with a double over the center fielder’s head. But after a walk to put two runners on base, Canyon starting pitcher Cheyanne Tarango got a fielder’s choice grounder and strikeout to end the inning.

Despite the loss of several key seniors to graduation, Weil said the number of young players he has returning next season can make the Griffins a threat for several years. Formby will be the front-runner among those young players. Weil said he did not foresee his team reaching the semifinals at the beginning of the season, but as the year progressed, he said they simply pulled together as a team. And Formby’s performance in the circle was a major factor.  

 “She kept us in a lot of games this year and competed at a high level,” Weil said of his freshman hurler.

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