El Camino Real, Verdugo Hills Are Champions

Woodland Hills El Camino Real senior Tami Jones isn’t a natural pitcher, but she certainly resembled one at the City Section softball finals Tuesday at UCLA’s Easton Stadium.

Jones, who has signed to play at Northwestern, threw a two-hitter as the second-seeded Conquistadores defeated top-seeded Granada Hills Kennedy, 6-0, to win the 4-A Division title.

El Camino Real (17-4) has won eight of the last 12 titles, the last coming in 1994, when Jones, then a sophomore, was the shortstop.

Jones (14-2) was moved to pitcher for her junior year and has excelled the past two seasons--especially against Granada Hills (18-2).

“It just felt right from the beginning,” Jones said. “I was having no worries.”

Junior shortstop Ramona Shelburne had two doubles and drove in two runs for El Camino Real.

Kennedy, which was winless in Northwest Valley Conference play as recently as 1993, was playing in its first section final since 1982.

In the 3-A final, South Gate stranded 11 runners in a 4-1 loss to Sunland Verdugo Hills.

Melanie Wood, the Dons’ lone senior, struck out 12 and scattered eight hits. She also had a two-run single in the fourth inning to overcome a 1-0 deficit for top-seeded Verdugo Hills (21-3), which was in the final for the fourth consecutive year.

Sisters Susie and Patty Espinoza each had two hits for second-seeded South Gate (20-4).