Falcons’ One Run Is All It Takes

GLENDALE — A single run against Highland High on Wednesday was all it took for the Crescenta Valley High softball team to get back on track.

Melinda Moulden pitched a three-hitter and drove in the game’s only run with a single in the third to give Crescenta Valley a 1-0 victory in a Southern Section Division I wild-card playoff game at Montrose Community Park.

Crescenta Valley will face Simi Valley in a first-round game Friday at Rancho Santa Susana Park in Simi Valley.

It wasn’t exactly a dominating effort by the Falcons (20-6), who were ranked No. 7 in Division I before last week’s two shutout losses to Hoover and Arcadia. But scoring a single run has merit when you’re coming off two losses, according to Coach Alan Eberhart.

“After last week, it seemed like 100 [runs],” Eberhart said. “We have squandered so many opportunities. In this case, [one run] was enough. I couldn’t be happier. It was good to see the kids smile again.”

Moulden (17-6), a sophomore right-hander, was all smiles after her nine-strikeout performance.

“Everything was [working] for me today,” she said.

Moulden’s bat also worked wonders for the Falcons--and wreaked havoc on Highland pitcher Michelle Wintermute (6-7), who was shaved by two Moulden line drives up the middle.

Moulden, the cleanup hitter, recorded the first of the Falcons’ five hits with a single off the glove of Wintermute to start the second.

In the third with two out, Leslie Linnemeyer ripped a fly ball that dropped just inside the right-field foul line for a triple. Hope Robertshaw followed with a walk before Moulden hit a screamer past the left ear of Wintermute to score Linnemeyer.

Highland (17-11), which finished third in the Golden League, had just two base runners through the first five innings but rallied in the sixth. With one out, Wintermute hit a hard ground ball up the middle.

Katy Gonzales followed with a bloop single just beyond second base. After Moulden struck out Jenna Stevenson for the second out, Jennifer Smith drew a walk to load the bases.

Andrea Wintermute, Michelle’s older sister and the only senior in the starting lineup, hit a ground ball up the middle, but sophomore second baseman Danielle Proctor made a backhanded stab at the grounder and threw to shortstop Becca Baldridge at second to force out a non-sliding Smith on a close play.

“I think she became a junior today,” said Eberhart of Proctor.

“My kids were looking at good pitches early on and I told them to swing the bat and put the ball in play,” Potts said. “Once they started swinging, we were able to make some things happen.”

In other playoff games:

Palmdale 3, Santa Monica 2--Vinny Gallegos singled in Edie Opperman with two out in the ninth inning to lift the Falcons (18-9) in a Division I wild-card game at Palmdale High.

Gallegos, who had two hits, also drove in the game-tying run with a two-out single in the seventh. Cheri Smith drove in the Falcons’ first run with a one-out ground out in the seventh.

The Falcons travel to Camarillo for a first-round game on Friday.

Campbell Hall 15, Oakwood 14--Monica Garcia drew a bases-loaded walk with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning to cap a five-run rally and force home Kathy Leary with the winning run of a Division V wild-card game at Campbell Hall.

Alexis Kotelko was two for three and drove in five runs for Campbell Hall (12-11). Teammate Molly Jacobs was one for four and drove in two runs. Arika Hassan, who allowed eight hits and was tagged for seven runs in the seventh inning, went the distance for Campbell Hall.