Preseason state No. 1 Norco did’t win the Dave Kops TOC in Arizona back in March, but got it done on Saturday with a win over Fullerton in the title game of the Michelle Carew Classic. Photo: Harold Abend / Cal-Hi Sports.
In a championship game matchup on Saturday at Peralta Park in Anaheim, state No. 3 Cougars took down No. 2 Fullerton, 7-0, as their pitching all week was dominant. The Indians, who got past Orange Lutheran in the semifinals earlier on Saturday, had to rest their No. 1 pitcher and Norco’s bats got going, especially Angelina Gonzales with two homers. Coral Williams of Norco was named Most Valuable Pitcher. Hayley Brock of Fullerton earned MVP honors.
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When the field for the 41st Michelle Carew Classic was announced, it included several of the Cal-Hi Sports Preseason Top 25 ranked teams, including No. 1 Norco, No. 2 Orange Lutheran, No. 3 Del Oro of Loomis, No. 4 Mater Dei of Chula Vista, No. 12 Los Alamitos, No. 17 Fullerton, No. 20 El Modena of Orange, No. 22 Point Loma of San Diego and No. 25 Marina of Huntington Beach.
To say that tournament director J.R. Bennett, with assistance from tournament founder and legendary softball coach Lance Eddy, had put together a loaded field would have almost been an understatement. Since the time the preseason rankings were announced and after several weeks of action, including the Dave Kops tournament in Arizona and two rankings, a few things changed. Murrieta Mesa of Murrieta was the new No. 1, but wasn’t in the Carew this year.
After each team played earlier in the week that included the quarterfinals, the semifinals were set for earlier on Saturday. Fullerton led the pack at No. 2 in the most recent rankings followed by No. 3 Norco, No. 10 Orange Lutheran and bubble team Ganesha of Pomona. The Carew might not have had both Nos. 1 and 2 but after a 9-4 victory by Fullerton over Ganesha and a 2-0 win by Norco versus Orange Lutheran from earlier on Saturday, a dream match-up between the state’s No. 2 and 3 teams was set for Saturday’s title game.
Mia Saenz led host school Canyon of Anaheim to a second-round win at the Michelle Carew Classic over Capistrano Valley with a two-run walk-off homer. Photo: comanchesoftball / Instagram.com.
After all was said and done, it was the outstanding pitching of Norco and some explosive bats that hadn’t totally manifested themselves so far the season, which totally dominated Fullerton in a 7-0 victory.
For Norco, which has dominated not only the Carew Classic but all softball in California for the past 15 or so years, it was the Cougars’ sixth title in nine championship game appearances.
Norco pitcher Coral Williams not only dominated Fullerton but every other team she faced in the tournament. The UCLA-committed junior right-hander tossed a three-hitter with five strikeouts. After Norco built a 3-0 lead through four innings, she didn’t give any more hits and never allowed the Fullerton batters to make any real solid contact. Through 24 innings pitched at the Carew, she only gave up one unearned run.
Williams was named the Michelle Carew Classic Most Valuable Pitcher and combined with Oklahoma State-committed senior Peyton May, who pitched 11 innings without giving up an earned and was named all-tournament, to unequivocally dominate every hitter in the tournament.
“Both Coral and Peyton’s pitching have been the absolute strength of this year’s team,” said Norco head coach Rick Robinson, the 2018 Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year. “The team believes they’re going to win when either of them starts the game in the circle, but the two of them are each other’s biggest supporters when the other is in the circle.”
While the pitching has only given up just two earned runs all season, Norco (15-2) has been having some trouble scoring. Just not in the title game.
Fullerton also was not able to go with ace Katelynn Mathews in the title game. The Cal Baptist-committed junior toughed it out and had pitched masterfully in three Carew starts, but she has been battling an ankle that was taped with a brace. After consulting with family, and after she had already pitched in the semifinal victory earlier in the day over Ganesha, head coach Trever Holton made the decision to go with his No. 2, Oklahoma-committed senior Malaya Majam-Finch, the niece of the superstar hurler Jennie Finch.
After Majam-Finch walked leadoff batter Kendra Nelson to start the game, the next batter, sophomore Angelina Gonzales, unloaded a two-run home run that in the end was all the Cougars would need to secure the victory. Gonzales nearly homered again in her next at bat but missed by a few feet. However, in her third trip to the plate, she blasted a solo home run in the same left-center field alley but this time it was estimated to go about 240 feet and gave Norco a 4-0 lead in the fifth, and that followed a solo home run by junior Isabella Ray in the fourth. Gonzales finished with three home runs in the tournament.
“It was really nice to see our bats come alive today after it took 10 innings to score yesterday against Canyon,” said Robinson. He was referring to a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over host Canyon of Anaheim that was scoreless through nine innings, and in which Norco had to score two runs on the bottom of the 10nth to pull out the win.
About the only player to make real solid contact the entire tournament off of Williams was Fullerton star Hayley Brock. The Utah Valley-bound senior left-handed batter led off the bottom of the first with a hard grounder through the hole to right field but it went naught after Williams knuckled down. In her next at bat, Brock hit an even harder shot to the same spot, but a diving stop denied her a second hit. For the entire Michelle Carew Classic, she turned in one of the more memorable offensive performances in tourney history. Brock finished 11-for-18 at the plate with four home runs, two doubles and 14 runs batted in. For her efforts, Brock was named the Michelle Carew Classic Most Valuable Player.
Because the format of the Michelle Carew Classic is to award a Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher with neither going to the same team, with all due respect to Brock and her outstanding offensive prowess, both could have gone to Norco.
The bottom line is Norco has two top-notch pitchers that in a grueling event like the Carew is essential, and also vital during games where Robinson may need to look to one or the other if faced with a tight spot. With that kind of pitching and if the bats stay hot, look out for Norco for the CIF Southern Section D1 playoffs.
“I hope this is a sign that we are starting to peak,” Robinson remarked in conclusion
Norco will resume play this Wednesday in a Big VII League games at current No. 16 ML King of Riverside.
Fullerton (16-3) is next in action on Wednesday at Garden Grove.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
