Two innings end CVFH season

While the Crescenta Valley-Foothill Junior All-Star softball team was able to survive one disastrous inning Monday, it wasn't so lucky Tuesday.

Gilroy of Northern California came close to eliminating CVFH from the Western Regional Tournament with an eight-run top of the fourth inning Monday. It finished the job with a four-run top of the sixth for a 12-10 victory Tuesday after play was postponed in the fifth Monday with the score tied at 8 due to rain and lightning.

"It's a bummer because it's a tale of two innings for us," CVFH Coach Will Thayer said. "We gave up all 12 runs in two innings."

The loss eliminated CVFH, which finished the season 10-2 with Section 2 and Division III championships, in the first round of the Western Regional Championship Playoff, as it was one of four teams out of 11 to advance to the final round.

The game was played over two days with CVFH taking a 7-0 lead into the fourth inning Monday before Gilroy charged back with an eight-run top of the fourth on three walks, two hits and two errors. Calley Ellingford scored to knot the score at 8 for CVFH in the bottom of the fourth before the game was called with one out in the top of the fifth, where action resumed Tuesday.

"I think the biggest challenge [with the layoff] was the momentum change because we ended with some momentum and it got us going in the wrong direction," said CVFH's Jordan Lousararian. "It was hard to come back from that."

While the ending is bitter, Thayer said the year will be a sweet memory for himself and the girls looking back on what they accomplished by becoming the first District 16 Junior softball team to advance to Regionals in at least a decade.

"It feels great [having reached Regionals] and the best part is it's only the first year [for a lot of girls] and we are all pretty confident we will be able to come back here again next year," said Lousararian, who batted .368 (seven for 19) in the tournament with 10 runs batted in.

It also stands as the year both the CV (Junior) and Foothill (Major) teams finally overcame the Division III tournament after both squads were knocked out in the Division III championship round in 2011.

"There is some satisfaction to finally get here," Thayer said. "It was a lot of fun. We had a really nice run, we had some quality victories and some great times, but it is sad [it has to end]."

Three walks and a bases-loaded triple from Brook Loesch for Gilroy in the top of the sixth ended the season for CVFH on Tuesday.