Softball: O.C. All-Stars competitive to the last

IRVINE – There’s no tying in softball!

Not unless you stack three games back-to-back-to-back in a showcase of the best that Orange County has to offer.

The East versus West showdown for the Orange County Seniors Softball All-Stars ended in a 4-4 deadlock, after the teams were unable to provide a winner after six innings.

Did it matter? That depends on who you ask.

“We just wanted to have fun,” Edison High utility player Rachel Abboud said. “This was our last hurrah. It’s fun to play with a lot of people who are really good.”

Abboud enjoyed her swan song in a Chargers uniform. She singled off Orange Lutheran’s Maddy Dwyer, a four-year starter for the Lancers who had established herself as one of the best in South Orange County.

Throughout her time at Edison, Abboud treated her playing career in the same manner with which the National Football League attempts to protect its shield.

“We were held to a very high standard academically and athletically,” she said. “I wanted to represent that the right way.”

The East grabbed a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth. Rosary’s Sarah Ellersick singled in the go-ahead run, and Orange Lutheran’s Lauren Espalin scored when Garden Grove Santiago’s Aurora Adams reached on an error.

When the West, comprised of the Sunset and Empire League teams, got back to the dugout and saw that they were behind, the athlete within them took over.

“It was good because it was relaxed in the beginning, and then towards the end, all of the competitiveness came out of us,” Fountain Valley catcher Madeline Domingo said. “We all looked around, and we realized we’re all athletes and we hate losing.”

Chalk it up to the heart of a champion. Los Alamitos won the CIF Southern Section Division 1 crown with a 3-1 victory over top-seeded Norco.

The Griffins were wholly responsible for the West’s rally. Allie Englant reached on a bunt single. Jenna Kean reached on an error, and Oregon-bound catcher Mary Iakopo homered on a low liner to center.

“I feel like toward the end, all of us were like, ‘Okay, we’re losing. That can’t happen,’” Domingo said. “Then Mary hit the home run, and we’re like, ‘There it is. We’re good. We’re back in this.’”

Iakopo’s three-run shot gave the West a 4-3 lead late in the game. She received All-Star MVP honors.

East pitchers Dwyer and Kayla Kmett (JSerra) singled to start the sixth, leading to the tying run.

Huntington Beach’s Ivy Davis and Chance Burden, Edison’s Riley Wester, and Marina’s Ryan King also were selected to represent the Coastal Cities out of the Sunset League.

The event was a proud moment for their coaches, too.

“It means a lot to have Ryan play in this game for our school,” Marina coach Mandee Farish said. “She has put in so much extra work this year from November until the end of the season. Being able to play in this game is a great way to end her high school career.”

“The best of the best get to play in this game, and seeing her out there in a Marina uniform was such a proud moment for me. I am so blessed to have coached Ryan for the past three years. I can’t wait to see what she has in store the next four years at Middle Tennessee State University.”

Others are also thinking about the future. Wester will be headed to Notre Dame in the fall, where her older sisters Karley and Ali went on to play in college.

“It’s been two years since I’ve played with her,” Wester said of being reunited with Ali. “I’m looking forward to it.”

*

O.C. Senior All-Stars

EAST 4, WEST 4

SCORE BY INNINGS

East 100 021 – 4 11 2

West 000 130 – 4 5 2

Dwyer (OLu), Kmett (JSerra) and Ellersick (OLu); Denhart (Los Al), Boos (Pacifica), Hillman (Valencia) and Iakopo, Domingo. HR – Burt (Pacifica), Iakopo (Los Al).

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