Don Lugo out-slugs Chino in battle of top 5 teams
The difference Tuesday afternoon for the Don Lugo High School softball team was that it scored its typically large number of runs out of necessity. In a battle of top-five teams in CIF-SS Division 2, a Don Lugo team that entered averaging more than nine runs opposite an allowance of less than two runs per game found itself leading Chino just by just one run after five innings.
Conquistadores catcher Brianna Murillo provided a clutch three-run home run in the sixth, though, to help No. 4 Don Lugo hit its average and secure a 10-6 victory over Mt. Baldy League foe Chino.
"The home run was huge," Don Lugo coach Ray Sheffield said. "(Chino) hit better than I thought they would. We've scored 175 runs but only allowed 33, but they made us make the plays."
Chino (17-5, 5-1), ranked third in Division 2, entered without a loss in the Mt. Baldy League, as did Don Lugo (18-2, 6-0). The two teams will meet again May 11, in the final game of the regular season.
"We've got to stay focused because we still have some tough league games," Chino coach Mike Smith said. "Hopefully it will come down to these two teams at the end of the season."
Don Lugo surged to a 7-1 lead thanks to a five-run fourth inning in which all nine batters came to the plate. A lead that once appeared to be insurmountable, though, was whittled to 7-6 with a three-run fifth inning from Chino, but Murillo answered by cranking the decisive home run over the left-center-field fence to restore Don Lugo's comfortable lead and take back the momentum. The catcher went 3 for 4 with four RBIs to lead a powerful lineup that produced 13 hits, seven of which went for extra bases. Senior shortstop Jessica Guillan was 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, and freshman leadoff batter Kailey Palazzolo was 3 for 5 with a pair of runs scored for Don Lugo.
"The first five hitters in our lineup could start for any high school," Sheffield said. "And two of them are freshmen. They hit every game."
Chino, too, showed that it could hit. The Cowgirls, who finished with nine hits, took advantage of three walks in the first inning to get on the board, then took advantage of a Don Lugo error to add two more runs in the fourth inning. After loading the bases in the fifth, Chino scored on a wild pitch prior to a two-run single by Jesse Roselynd that closed what was a six- run gap to one.
"I thought we had a chance at that point," Smith said, "but that three-run home run took the wind out of our sails. It was a real slugfest."
Don Lugo starter Belinda Renne (13-1) allowed six runs -- five earned -- on six hits with four walks. The Chino pitching duo of Abre Landeros and Miranda Viramontes allowed 13 hits and four walks. Three of the four walks issued by Chino resulted in runs.
"The walks hurt us," Smith said. "We tell the girls not to lay blame, but without those walks, maybe its a 6-6, 7-6 game."
About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
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