PREP SOFTBALL ROUNDUP : El Dorado Slides Past Cypress

El Dorado scored two runs in the seventh inning on one hit and four Cypress errors to upset the fifth-ranked Centurions, 2-0, in Empire League softball play at Arnold Park in Cypress.

El Dorado (16-6, 6-1) had runners on base in every inning except the third, but the Centurions kept them off the scoreboard until the final inning.

Catcher Carmen LoNigro led off the seventh with a line-drive single to center, and from there things went downhill for Cypress (13-5, 4-3). Jenny Terrell hit a grounder to third, but second baseman Christa Saindon dropped the throw and everyone was safe. Both runners advanced on a groundout to second, and then Jamie Nebeker’s bunt was misplayed, loading the bases.

The Centurions, who turned two double plays in the game, looked as if they might get out of another jam when they forced out LoNigro at home. But with the bases still loaded, Terrell was caught in a rundown between third and home, and scored after running into the catcher to give the Golden Hawks a 1-0 lead. Nebeker then scored on an error by Julie Adams, and the Centurions watched their championship hopes slip further out of reach.

El Dorado’s Kelli Tom (8-3) pitched a four-hit shutout, striking out five and walking none.

“Kelli pitched beautifully,” El Dorado coach Chris Schaner said. “But it was a whole team effort. We have worked hard for this.”

El Dorado faces league-leading Los Alamitos today. The Golden Hawks finished second to No. 2-ranked Los Alamitos in the Fullerton tournament this season and lost 2-1 in the teams’ first league matchup.