Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy softball turned back by Notre Dame Academy
LA CAÑADA — Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy softball Coach Kirk Nishiyama noticed that his team looked a bit sluggish Thursday.
A day after hitting a season-best seven home runs, Flintridge Sacred Heart looked to continue its power surge when it met visiting Notre Dame Academy.
Instead, the Tologs looked flat throughout most of the game and dropped a 10-5 decision.
“For some reason, we couldn’t get things going and we were out of sync,” said Nishiyama , whose team registered a 25-0 league road win against Marymount on Wednesday. “It’s a tough loss and Notre Dame Academy was the better team today.
“We’ve been playing well throughout most of the season and then we just didn’t have it today for some reason. We have three league games left, so we want to get back on track and make a good showing.”
Flintridge Sacred Heart (11-5-1, 2-3 in league) fell to Notre Dame (4-1 in league) for the second time this season. The Tologs, who advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division V quarterfinals last season, suffered a 4-3 defeat April 12. The Tologs are in third place in league, behind Louisville and Notre Dame. The top three teams automatically qualify for the postseason.
Notre Dame received a two-run double from Vanessa Temblador to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Flintridge Sacred Heart responded with three runs in its half of the first. Payton Tomkins had a run-scoring single to slice the deficit to 2-1 before Danielle Fradet followed with a two-run single to give the Tologs a 3-2 lead.
A two-run home run off the top of the left-field fence by Sarah McMorrow gave Notre Dame a 4-3 lead in the second. Haley Beaven and Liana Garcia each had two-run singles in the third to extend the lead to 8-2.
The Tologs scored three runs in the fifth to slice the deficit to 8-5. Tomkins made it 8-3 with a single and Courtney Rasic made it 8-5 with a two-run single.
Notre Dame scored single runs in the sixth and seventh.
Danielle Fradet, a senior catcher, said the Tologs will look to regroup when they meet Louisville at 4 p.m. Tuesday at L.A. Pierce College.
“We’ll look to take the frustrations from this game and turn it into a positive,” said Fradet, who reached base twice. “We know it’s going to be a big game against Louisville.”
Flintridge Sacred Heart finished with nine hits, including two apiece from Amanda Ramirez, Bridget Garrity, Alli Lombardo and Tomkins. Olivia Fitzpatrick and Lombardo scored two runs each.
Notre Dame collected six hits, including two from Temblador. Beaven finished with three runs and McMorrow scored twice.
