Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
Dan Berry's postgame comments Tuesday were short and concise.
"La Serna played well and good luck to them in the playoffs. Thank
you. Thank you," the Crescenta Valley High softball coach said.
It took the Falcons a few more minutes to play themselves out of
their CIF Southern Section Division III second-round postseason game
against La Serna.
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BOX SCORE
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La Serna 4 4 0 1 1 0 3 -- 13 14 0
Cres. Valley 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 5 4
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La Serna IP R ER H BB K
Lindsay 7 1 1 5 0 6
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Cres. Valley IP R ER H BB K
Strangis 7 13 4 14 3 8
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WP - Lindsay (12-4).
LP - Strangis (19-7).
2B - LS-Castaneda 3, Johnson; CV-Vermillon.
HR - LS-Van Hook (3).
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Crescenta Valley allowed four runs in the first inning and La
Serna tacked on four more in the second en route to a 13-1 blowout
victory at Crescenta Valley High.
"It just wasn't our day," said Falcon junior Emily Hanson, who had
one of her team's five hits against pitcher Devin Lindsay (12-4).
"It happens in softball."
The Falcons (20-8) had an off day at the plate, in the field and
in the circle.
Lindsay baffled the Falcons with her off-speed pitches and blew
past them early with her riseball as she was perfect through three
innings. Crescenta Valley's lone highlight came in the fourth inning,
when Sydney Vermillon doubled home Hanson to cut La Serna's lead to
9-1.
Lindsay was also supported by a solid and flawless defense that
robbed the Falcons of at least two hits with backhanded stabs on
grounders.
The Falcons couldn't match the Lancers' defensive efforts.
A two-out error in the first inning allowed three La Serna runners
to score. In the second inning, another Falcon error with two outs
put runners in scoring position.
La Serna freshman Ariel Van Hook made the Falcons pay for their
error as she launched a three-run home run.
A third two-out error in the fifth scored La Serna's 10th run.
"I thought this game was going to be close," said Lancer Coach
Ginger Larsin, whose team (17-5) was eliminated by Crescenta Valley,
8-2, in last year's first round.
The game quickly got out of reach, partly because of Crescenta
Valley's miscues and partly because of the Lancers' potent offense.
La Serna pounded Falcon senior pitcher Lauren Strangis (19-7) for
14 hits, including four that went for extra bases.
Katrina Castaneda, who had three doubles, and Tiffany Johnson
scored three runs apiece.
* EDGAR MELIK-STEPANYAN covers sports. He can be reached at (818)
637-3226 or by e-mail at edgar.stepanyan@latimes.com.
