No luck for lethargic Sea Kings in loss

CERRITOS ? There weren’t many positives for the Corona del Mar High softball team in its 8-0 loss at Gahr in a CIF Southern Section Division IV wild-card game Wednesday.

“We couldn’t play defense, and we couldn’t hit the ball,” Sea Kings Coach Nichole Thompson said. “I don’t know. It was just an all-around bad game.”

But as it often goes in the playoffs, one bad game and you’re out.

Gahr pitcher Roni Alvarado tossed a no-hitter, striking out 15 Sea Kings batters, 11 of them swinging. Corona del Mar (14-11) had only one base runner ? senior catcher Katie Schulte drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, but was stranded at second base.

Sea King junior pitcher Michelle Tolfa certainly wasn’t at her sharpest, even though all 13 of the Gahr hits were singles. The Corona del Mar defense didn’t exactly help matters either, especially in the first and fifth innings, when Gahr tallied all eight of its runs.

Three straight Gladiator singles in the first inning brought in a run. After Gahr’s Alyssa Belmontes was caught off third base on a grounder back to Tolfa, Alyssa Morales hit a grounder to Sea Kings shortstop Allie Duernberger.

Duernberger fired home, but the throw was too late to get the runner there. Schulte then threw to second, but an alert Morales beat the throw and another run crossed the plate for the Gladiators in the process.

Down 3-0, Tolfa settled down until the bottom of the fifth, although she admitted it wasn’t her best effort.

“Eventually, my pitches started working really well toward the end,” Tolfa said. “But yeah, I had a couple bad innings where my pitches weren’t where they should be.”

With one out in the fifth, Gahr hit three successive singles to load the bases. A grounder was hit to second, and Corona del Mar second baseman Michelle Zucker threw home. Again, the Gahr baserunner beat the play at the plate to score a run.

Alvarado then hit a grounder down the first base line, but the ball took a bad hop past Sea Kings first baseman Andrea Dort and down the right field line. Two more runs scored on the play to make it 6-0, and Gahr added another on a single to center.

Gahr scored its final run of the inning on an RBI groundout.

Tolfa nearly broke up the no-hitter in the seventh inning when she blooped a fly ball to left field with two outs. Gahr shortstop Lindsey Marquez made an over-the-shoulder catch to preserve the no-hitter and end the game.

It was that kind of game for Corona del Mar, which had won wild-card games the past two years. Those wins remain the only two postseason victories in the program’s history.

“We were going for two wins this year,” Thompson said. “But everybody has their bad day and somebody’s got to lose.”

Tolfa and Thompson said they were frustrated about not getting strike calls on the outside corner during the game.

Still, balls and strikes mattered little, considering how quiet the Sea Kings bats were against Alvarado. Corona del Mar freshman Rene Mycorn narrowly missed an extra-base hit on a foul ball down the left-field line in the fourth inning, but that was about the only hard-hit ball for the Sea Kings against Alvarado.

After the game, Tolfa said she remained optimistic about the Sea Kings’ chances for next year. Corona del Mar graduates just two seniors in Dort and Schulte.

“It might be tough, but we might have some new freshmen coming in and everyone will improve,” Tolfa said.

Gahr moves on to play at Ridgecrest Burroughs in a first-round game Friday.