Cents don’t play nice
Prep softball: Saugus smacks the ball and the catcher’s mitt in victory
A group of Saugus softball players lightly tapped third baseman Ty Cueva on the helmet as she touched home plate.
It was about the only gentle highlight from the Centurions’ 6-0 home win over Granada Hills on Thursday.
Cueva hit a home run off a school building outside center field. Lindsay Clare launched a homer to left center. And pitcher Mariah Lopez pounded her catcher’s mitt all afternoon, to the tune of five hitless innings and nine strikeouts.
“I’m not surprised at all,” Cueva said of whether she’s surprised anymore when Lopez mows down hitters. “She’s amazing. I’m like the leader of the Mariah fan club, not kidding.”
Lopez allowed just one base runner, a walk. But Saugus head coach Julie Archer pulled Lopez after five innings to save her arm for two games this weekend.
The game was well in hand by then, anyway.
Saugus (7-3) scored one in the first inning, two in the second, and one each in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Clare finished 3-for- 4 with a tworun home run, and Cueva went 2-for-3 with what was her first blast of the season.
“It felt so good because it’s been a while,” Cueva said. “It just felt nice — a line drive home run, too. Usually, if I ever hit one, it’s a big blooper. But that one was solid.”
Clare scored two runs, as did Sabrina Seeley.
Ashley Murphy pitched six innings for Granada Hills (2-5), allowing six runs (two earned) on eight hits. She walked two and struck out one. The Highlanders, though, made four errors behind her.
“Ashley had a great game,” said Granada Hills co-head coach Ivan Garcia. “I think she hit her spots well. She had control of most of her pitches. She really did a good job keeping us in this game with this very good team.”
Garcia was equally willing to praise Lopez, an Oklahoma University bound senior.
“Mariah is a D1 pitcher, so she was in complete control of the game,” Garcia said. “I think she had all her pitches working for her and at any time she could reach into this bag of tricks that she has and pull out something that keeps us off balance.”
Angel Riley pitched the final two innings for Saugus, which will open up Foothill League play on April 12 against Golden Valley. Archer likes where her Cents are at.
“I like what I see,” Archer said. “Today we showed some good things offensively. Our defense was solid and our pitching.
“We have the best pitching staff around. So if we just continue to play as a team, we should be good.”