Charles Rich
Wild horses couldn't prevent her from departing the cozy confines of
the outfield.
Unless there's a chance for Crescenta Valley High softball player
Sarah Sherman to enter the pitcher's circle and showcase her
pinpoint control.
Sherman capitalized on the opportunity, striking out six and
scattering two hits Saturday to ignite the Falcons to a 2-0 win
against Newbury Park in a pool-play game of the third annual San
Fernando Valley Victory Spring Classic at the Hjelte Sports Complex
in Encino.
*--*
BOX SCORE
*--*
*--*
Cres. Valley 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 -- 2 4 1
Newbury Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 2 0
*--*
*--*
CV IP H R ER BB K
Sherman 7 2 0 0 0 6
*--*
*--*
Newbury Park IP H R ER BB K
Ellement Curtis 2.2 4.1 2 2 2 0 2 0 4 1 3 6
Totals 7 4 2 2 5 9
*--*
*--*
WP-- Sherman (7-2)
LP-- Ellement (5-2)
*--*
The Falcons (7-2) will face Burroughs (7-3) -- a 7-6 winner
against Van Nuys Birmingham in 10 innings -- at 1:30 p.m. Saturday
in a Gold Bracket semifinal contest.
Sherman, a speedy outfielder the past two years, provided a
calming influence Saturday. She kept Newbury Park (8-4) at bay to
record her fourth shutout this season.
"It's a big transition and you have to buckle up," Sherman said.
"There's less pressure playing the outfield. I get knots in my
stomach pitching in the first inning because I know I can't make
mistakes."
Sherman (7-2) rarely made a mistake, and helped put the Falcons --
the only team in the tournament to qualify for the Gold Bracket all
three years -- in position to win the championship for the first time
since 2001.
The senior right-hander didn't issue a walk and received some
nifty defensive support from Kirsten Whitt and freshman Jennifer
Becker.
Whitt handled eight defensive plays, and Becker had two assists.
"We're fairly smart defensively," CV Coach Dan Berry said.
"Jennifer stepped in with lots of discipline, and Kirsten thinks just
fielding and throwing."
CV took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Amanda Peek opened with
a single and courtesy runner Sydney Vermillion advanced to second on
a wild pitch by Danielle Ellement (5-2). Heather Burke's single
scored Vermillion. The Falcons added a run in the third when
Ellement walked Kaycee Crownover with the bases loaded to score
Ashley Feterl.
"We'll take what you give us," Berry said. "We'll take pitches
until they throw a strike."
CV 4, Verdugo Hills 2: The Falcons rallied from a 2-1 deficit
after the first inning by scoring three in the sixth to win
Saturday's opening pool-play game in the third annual San Fernando
Valley Victory Spring Classic.
Dena DePompa had two hits, and Tarrin Martin and Jessica McGivney
both added hits for Verdugo Hills (5-10), which scored twice in the
bottom of the first, including a run-scoring groundout by McGivney,
who struck out seven in the loss.
Amanda Peek had a double, a triple and three runs batted in for
CV (6-2), which received five strikeouts from Sarah Sherman in a
complete-game effort.
Sherman also doubled and scored, as did Kirsten Whitt, as part of
the Falcons' sixth-inning rally, which was highlighted by Peek's
two-run triple.
Heather Burke added a run-scoring single for CV.
