Newport Harbor softball routs rival CdM in Battle of the Bay
Ginny Peterson was at the center of it all. The sophomore right-hander recorded eight strikeouts in a five-inning, one-hit shutout, an abbreviated outing after the mercy rule came into play.
'I think the girls had a lot of fun today,' Newport Harbor coach Patrick Murphy said. 'I think it started and ended with how Ginny Peterson pitched in the circle today. She was fantastic. We've asked her to kind of up her strike percentage. Today, she threw 64% strikes, threw the first-pitch strike 78% of the time.'
Peterson also had two hits and drove in a team-high four runs, as she was the beneficiary of having eight runners on base during her plate appearances.
Newport Harbor (7-6, 1-1) batted around in the first and second innings. The Sailors scored five runs in the first, then had three runners cross the plate in each of the three successive innings.
'It felt pretty good,' Peterson said of her outing in the circle. 'Honestly, I wasn't expecting the score to be that high. I really made sure to give it my all.'
Center fielder Cora Jordan had the lone extra base hit of the contest with a run-scoring double in the third inning, but the Sailors also made their way around the base paths with six stolen bases.
'It was like pumped,' Jordan said of the atmosphere in the dugout as the Sailors turned over the lineup again and again. 'It's exciting when you're winning and you're doing good.'
First baseman Dominique Bettencourt had a perfect day at the plate with three hits, three runs scored, two runs batted in and a walk. Shortstop Sienna Schneider had two hits and scored twice, and second baseman Lilia Horsley had a pair of singles.
Right fielder Kate Shepherd reached base three times — on a hit by pitch, a walk and an infield single. Catcher Ally Shaw, third baseman Abby George and left fielder Alexis Vanhorn each had a single, as each starter in the Sailors' lineup produced at least one hit.
Brooklyn Black took over in right field and made a running catch near the foul line.
'I'm really proud of the girls,' Murphy said. 'I love being at practice, I love being around them, and I just think we progressively get a little bit better every time out.'
The Newport Harbor softball program has had a new playing surface for a little over a year now, and the Sailors have been dominant in home games against their crosstown rivals since the installation of the turf infield
In the first meeting on the new field last year, Newport Harbor beat the Sea Kings 15-0, which came on the heels of a wild 20-18 win for the Sailors at CdM to kick off the Battle of the Bay series.
First baseman Makenna Smith led off with an opposite-field single to right, but CdM (4-6, 0-2) would not see another batter reach base until Peterson issued back-to-back walks — to center fielder Sierra Zuan and pinch hitter Ashley Jones — with two outs in the fifth.
Right fielder Tatum Reynolds caught a line drive and threw to first to complete a double play at first base in the second inning, the duo jumping for joy after the defensive play.
Corona del Mar coach Dennis Wilbanks called the double play 'a bright spot' for his team. Reynolds was making her first career start, he said.
Smith celebrated her teammate's play, and Wilbanks referred to her as a 'vocal leader' for the Sea Kings.
'She brings that spark to the girls and [shows] what's expected to play at another level,' Wilbanks added. 'As a coaching staff, we enjoy that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
3 days ago
- Forbes
No Positive Momentum And No Answers For The Slumping New York Mets
For three innings Wednesday night, the Mets finally appeared to be building some positive momentum. Despite a 95-minute rain delay, the Mets and the hardy souls amongst the announced crowd of 38,647 all picked up where they left off Tuesday, when Pete Alonso's record-setting night helped end an eight-game losing streak and generated the type of good vibes that have been lacking at Citi Field throughout the Mets' two-month nosedive. Alonso was showered with a standing ovation prior to his first at-bat, when he ripped a two-RBI single to open the first of consecutive three-run outbursts against former teammate Carlos Carrasco. The Mets' de facto ace, David Peterson, was on the mound. Braves manager Brian Snitker feared he'd have to ask infielder Luke Williams, who got the last four outs Tuesday, to pitch again. Another pitcher with an ERA with an ERA north of 6.00, Bryce Elder, awaited in Thursday's series finale. The Mets were going to sweep the Braves and pull their season back from the brink. Oh well, maybe the Mets will sweep the Braves next week (but probably not). And with each day this slump deepens, it looks less likely the Mets are ever going to figure out a way to salvage a season that began with such magical promise. Ozzie Albies did his best Chipper Jones/Freddie Freeman impersonation last night, when he hit the go-ahead run-scoring double to cap a three-RBI night and lift the fourth-place Braves to a 4-3 win. It was the second straight comeback win for Atlanta, which climbed out of the six-run hole Wednesday by scoring nine runs (how many runs?) in the fourth inning of an 11-6 victory. The consecutive losses dropped the Mets to 2-13 since July 28 and left them on the verge of falling out of the playoff picture. The Mets, who led the majors with a 45-24 record through June 12, are just a half-game ahead of the Reds in the race for the last NL wild card berth. 'We haven't played well but we're still pretty much right in the thick of things,' Carlos Mendoza said. As far as bright sides go, that's a pretty dim one. And it could have been worse and likely will get worse for the Mets, who are accustomed to such expressions of pessimistic optimism. The Mets flirted with disaster Tuesday, when they blew a four-run lead before Brandon Nimmo's three-run homer snapped a tie in a 13-5 win. The Mets lost the series despite a long-awaited breakthrough for their top five batters. Alonso, Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Jeff McNeil hit a combined .356 with five homers and 14 RBIs against the Braves. They had all six of the team's hits Thursday. What will the Mets do to get right now that they're not facing a team sending Quad-A hurlers to the mound? Carrasco was designated for assignment hours before Elder went more than six innings for just the fourth time this season. Then again, all four of those outings have come since June 7 for Elder, which would make him the no. 2 starter for the Mets, who last had a pitcher not named David Peterson last six innings on…June 7. Peterson, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga have combined to throw 389 innings this season — fewer than 20 more than Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo and George Kirby have tossed this season entering their scheduled starts against the Mets this weekend. Perhaps the Mets will get a spark and a lengthy start from Nolan McLean, who will be recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to make his big league debut by taking Frankie Montas' spot in the rotation Saturday. If not, Montas will probably get to add to this sobering Mets stat: Their mop-up men — Justin Hagenman and Paul Blackburn — have allowed two runs in 12 innings this month while set-up men Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto, all of whom were acquired to shore up the bullpen at the trade deadline, have surrendered eight runs (four earned) over 17 1/3 innings since Aug. 1. 'We just haven't been able to put everything together,' Mendoza said. 'Whenever we're getting the offense, we're not getting starting pitching. Today we got starting pitching, we got some timely hitting — even though we didn't create much traffic — but then we couldn't close it out.' And now the Mets are this close to authoring a bigger collapse than anything the 2007 or 2008 team ever could have imagined. The best-case scenario is this is another retooling of the story told in 1999, when the Mets overcame seven- and eight-game losing streaks to squeak into the playoffs and make the NLCS. Regardless, this won't be the season that goes down in Mets history as the one in which they simply became a boring good team. Maybe next year (but probably not).
NBC Sports
4 days ago
- NBC Sports
Michael Harris II's grand slam caps nine-run fourth as Braves rally to beat Mets 11-6
NEW YORK — Michael Harris II hit a grand slam Wednesday night to cap Atlanta's biggest inning in almost five years — a nine-run outburst in the fourth that propelled the Braves to an 11-6 comeback win over the slumping New York Mets. The Braves fell behind 6-0 in a game delayed 95 minutes by rain before storming back against David Peterson and Reed Garrett (3-5). Peterson issued four free passes in the fourth, including a bases-loaded walk of Nick Allen, and gave up Jurickson Profar's three-run double before Marcell Ozuna greeted Garrett with an RBI single. Three batters later, Harris hit a 417-foot homer to straightaway center. The nine-run inning was the biggest for the Braves since Sept. 9, 2020, when they scored 11 times in the second inning of a 29-9 win over the Miami Marlins. Ozuna hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Aaron Bummer (2-2), the first of five Braves relievers to follow Carlos Carrasco, tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Carrasco gave up six runs in two innings. Pete Alonso had a two-run single and Cedric Mullins lofted a sacrifice fly in the first before Juan Soto hit a 407-foot, two-run homer and Jeff McNeil had an RBI double in the second. Peterson surrendered a season-high six runs over a season-low 3 1/3 innings. The Mets have lost 12 of 14. Key moment Harris' grand slam was his first since last Aug. 14. Key stat The Mets gave up at least nine runs in an inning for the ninth time in franchise history and the first since Apr. 16, 2019, when the Philadelphia Phillies scored 10 runs in the first inning of a 14-3 win. Up next The three-game series concludes Thursday night, when Mets RHP Kodai Senga (7-4, 2.30 ERA) opposes Braves RHP Bryce Elder (4-9, 6.12).
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Michael Harris II's grand slam caps 9-run fourth as Braves rally to beat Mets 11-6
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Harris II hit a grand slam Wednesday night to cap Atlanta's biggest inning in almost five years — a nine-run outburst in the fourth that propelled the Braves to an 11-6 comeback win over the slumping New York Mets. The Braves fell behind 6-0 in a game delayed 95 minutes by rain before storming back against David Peterson and Reed Garrett (3-5). Peterson issued four free passes in the fourth, including a bases-loaded walk of Nick Allen, and gave up Jurickson Profar's three-run double before Marcell Ozuna greeted Garrett with an RBI single. Three batters later, Harris hit a 417-foot homer to straightaway center. The nine-run inning was the biggest for the Braves since Sept. 9, 2020, when they scored 11 times in the second inning of a 29-9 win over the Miami Marlins. Ozuna hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Aaron Bummer (2-2), the first of five Braves relievers to follow Carlos Carrasco, tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Carrasco gave up six runs in two innings. Pete Alonso had a two-run single and Cedric Mullins lofted a sacrifice fly in the first before Juan Soto hit a 407-foot, two-run homer and Jeff McNeil had an RBI double in the second. Peterson surrendered a season-high six runs over a season-low 3 1/3 innings. The Mets have lost 12 of 14. Harris' grand slam was his first since last Aug. 14. Key stat The Mets gave up at least nine runs in an inning for the ninth time in franchise history and the first since Apr. 16, 2019, when the Philadelphia Phillies scored 10 runs in the first inning of a 14-3 win. Up next The three-game series concludes Thursday night, when Mets RHP Kodai Senga (7-4, 2.30 ERA) opposes Braves RHP Bryce Elder (4-9, 6.12). ___
