Apaches pound out 13 hits to earn road wildcard victory. Los Altos Next.
Above: Keppel High School’s Tiffany Rubin is greeted by her teammates after scoring against Duarte. (Correspondent photo by Larry Goren/Sports)
Thursday’s first round
Divsision V
San Jacinto 6, Mayfield 0
Division VI
Oxford Academy 10, Gabrielino 6
Wednesday’s wild card
Division III
Arcadia 10, Hawthorne 6
Division V
Serrano 15, Rio Hondo Prep 2
Keppel 5, Duarte 4
Mayfield 7, Malibu 2
Ridgecrest Burroughs 3, La Caada 2
Division VI
St. Monica 3, Ramona Convent 1
Thursday’s First Round
Division V
Mayfield at San Jacinto, 3:15 p.m.
Division VI
Gabrielino at Oxford Academy, 3:15 p.m.
Friday’s First Round
Division III
Arcadia at Los Altos, 3:15 p.m.
Division V
Fillmore at Temple City, 3:30 p.m.
Flintridge Prep at Schurr, 3:15 p.m.
North Torrance at Pasadena Poly, 3:15 p.m.
South Pasadena at Big Bear, 3:15 p.m.
Serrano or Rio Hondo Prep at Torrance, 3:15 p.m.
Keppel or Duarte at Whittier Christian, 3:15 p.m.
Division VI
St. Monica or Ramona Convent vs. Alverno at Glendale Sports Complex, 3:15 p.m.
By Scott Galetti, Staff Writer
HAWTHORNE – Arcadia High School’s prom is on Saturday and a number of girls from the Apaches softball team had hair and nail appointments set for Friday.
Those appointments, however, will have to be altered, but the players don’t mind a bit.
In a season where its offense has been hit or miss, Arcadia pounded out 13 hits Wednesday en route to a 10-6 road victory over Hawthorne in a CIF-Southern Section Division III wild-card game.
Morgan Barchan’s two-run single in the top of the sixth snapped a 6-6 deadlock as the Apaches scored four runs in the inning to put the game away.
“It was pretty big because it put us ahead,” said Barchan, who was 1-for-1 with two RBIs, a pair of walks and two runs scored. “We just have a lot of heart and battle back as a team.”
Caitlin “Curly” Grimes, Samantha Miller, Monique Vallejo and Lindsey Hermann each had two hits for Arcadia (12-11).
“The hitting was good today,” Grimes said. “We normally don’t have strong offense, but it was very good today and it kept us in the game.”
The Apaches (12-11) advanced to Friday’s first round and will travel to Los Altos.
“It’s really big because we weren’t even sure at first if we were even going to make CIF this year,” Arcadia sophomore pitcher Patricia Stark said. “Now that we’re in it and we’ve won our first CIF game, our next game is Friday, so hopefully we’ll push trough that one also.”
Stark (12-11) settled down after allowing a three-run homer to Jessica Rose in the first inning to earn the win.
Stark allowed 10 hits and four walks, but held the Cougars scoreless in the final three innings.
“They are amazing hitters, but I just stayed focused and our team came back,” Stark said. “It was a hitting game. Both teams hit great.”
Added Grimes: “Patty pitched an awesome game, and our defense was strong.”
Grimes’ single gave Arcadia a 1-0 lead in the first.
The Apaches scored three runs in the second to take a 4-3 lead on singles by Miller and Vallejo and a throwing error.
Hawthorne’s Krizia Sanfillippo’s single tied the game in the bottom of the second.
Arcadia regained the lead in the third on a single to right by Vallejo and a bunt single by Hermann, but Ivana Verdin’s two-run triple in the fourth knotted things up at 6.
Grimes is more than happy to alter prom plans.
“Saturday’s prom so a couple of hair appointments will be moved,” Grimes said. “The nails can’t get done anymore, but that’s on Saturday. We have to focus on Los Altos.
The Apaches expect a battle against the Conquerors.
“We play as a team and win as a team, and we just need to stick together like we always do and we’ll win,” Grimes said.
