TOHS Lancers defeated by Agoura Chargers, 1-0, as team struggles to score runs
By Steve Ames

MICHAEL COONS/T.O.A. SAFE AT THIRD--Katie O'Neil of Thousand Oaks slides safely into third base beating the tag by Michelle Smith of Agoura during Tuesday's game at Thousand Oaks. Agoura won, 1-0.

Special to the T.O. A.

Getting runners on base in scoring position is one thing. But if the Thousand Oaks High softball team is to make it to the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs this season, the team will need to deliver some runs.

"Defensively we’ve been fine, pitching we’ve been fine," head coach Gary Walin said Tuesday after his Lancers lost to Agoura High, 1-0, at Acorn Acres field.

"We have just done a very, very poor job all year of knocking in runners in scoring position."

When the teams met earlier at Agoura (11-9 overall, 5-5 Marmonte League) in a league game, Thousand Oaks (11-6-1 overall, 4-4-1 league) was on the winning end of the same score and also with a first inning run.

Today the Lancers are at Westlake High at 3:30 p.m. and Tuesday the team will be home vs. Newbury Park High at 6 p.m. The Chargers today are at Royal High and on Tuesday they will be on a short road trip to Calabasas High. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m.

Against Agoura, the Lancers had four players reach base on hits, two on walks, two on errors and one on a fielder’s choice.

"We had four opportunities in the game," Walin said. "We had nine total base runners in the game and we can’t get a hit in the clutch to save our life."

He said the whole season has been like that with Thousand Oaks getting runners on first and third with nobody out and the bases loaded with one out.

"We talked about this," Walin said. "We stressed it all year about the type of pitch to look for and the type of discipline we need when you have runners in scoring position. It’s been basically our downfall for the entire season."

Agoura head coach Brandy Brennan said that she and her team respect the Lancers and that it was good to finally win a game against them.

"They’re definitely a great ball club," she said. "There’s no doubt about it that both teams played really well. We definitely met our match with them.

"They are a classy team and really a well coached team with a lot of talent. I was real proud with how we came out because I feel the same about our girls. They do work hard and I feel it paid off."

Brennan was a bit disappointed that the Chargers scored early and had more opportunities to score, but didn’t execute later on in the game.

"They (the Lancers) are a tough team and it feels good," she said. "We haven’t beaten them in quite some time. It fell our way today. We out-hit them (6-5). We had a lot of good hits."

Agoura’s senior catcher Jessie DePippo opened the game with a walk issued by Thousand Oaks junior pitcher Megan Spehar. Sophomore second baseman Jamie Pearce sacrificed her to second and junior third baseman Michelle Smith (2 for 3) doubled to right field to score DePippo.

"Michelle’s RBI was crucial, obviously, because it was the only run scored," Brennan said. "It was a high pitch. She just brought her hands up to it. So she did really well."

Winning pitcher Alyssa Neilson (6-6) had three strikeouts, all in the first inning, and Spehar (2-1) struck out struck out seven Charger batters.

Walin said he thinks this year’s team has the ability and the players who are capable of doing it, but just haven’t shown it.

"That’s frustrating," he said, "because you keep going out in defeat in game after game and squander so many opportunities in each game.

"Last year–when we tied for the league championship–we won a lot of games and we got lucky. We were lucky in a lot of games. We had the ball bounce for us. This year I can’t say we’ve had one break all season."

Walin said he does not anticipate that anyone on another team is going to feel sorry for Thousand Oaks’ plight "because we’ve been up there and we’re not getting a lot of luck.

"We’re not getting a lot of bounces and we’re not getting a lot of things our way. But we’re going to hang in there."

The Lancers’ best opportunity of turning Tuesday’s game around was in the fifth inning when senior center fielder Jami Tipre reached first base on an error by the shortstop and junior catcher Melissa Smith followed by taking first base on the pitcher’s error.

But while sophomore third baseman Courtney Rudloff reached first on a fielder’s choice, Tipre was out at home plate when the ball was hit to Pearce who threw it to DiPippo for the first out of the inning.

Freshman second baseman Kelly Cordeiro then laid down a safe bunt to load the bases. However, the next two batters were unable to deliver with a hit and the side was retired.

Walin said he was encouraged by how his team responded to the Chargers in the top of the sixth inning.

"They had one other opportunity in the game with the bases loaded and we did a nice job of getting out of that," he said.

In that inning Agoura’s first batter DiPippo walked, Pearce reached first base on a fielder’s choice, when the attempt was to put DiPippo out at second, and Smith singled to right field.

But DiPippo got caught between catcher and third base for the first out, the next two batters failed to get hits and the Chargers were retired that inning.

With the announcement last week that senior pitcher Mandy Kilionski is out for the remainder of the season because of academic ineligibility, the main pitcher for Thousand Oaks will be Spehar.

Walin said that sophomore Suzanne Cominski might also have some opportunities to pitch.

"We’ll see how it goes," he said. "The bottom line is we have a fairly young team, so we want them to hang in there and maybe we can grow from this. Maybe it’s a good learning experience for us."