Saugus softball pulls away from West Ranch with 6 runs in third inning

SANTA CLARITA — In a showdown between the top two teams in the Foothill League, Saugus softball came out on top against West Ranch, 9-5, on Thursday afternoon.

The Centurions (16-8, 10-0) scored early on their home field, getting a two-run home run to center field from senior Amelia Johnson for a 2-0 lead at the end of the first inning.

The Wildcats (15-7, 7-2) tied the game at 2-2 in the third inning. They got an RBI single to left field from sophomore Kara Carnes in the second and a solo home run to left-center field by junior Ava Esparza in the third.

It looked like the contest would be close throughout.

But Saugus responded with six runs in the bottom of the third inning to grab firm control of the contest.

The bottom of the lineup led the surge for the Centurions. Senior Malia Horvat, who was batting eighth, drove an RBI triple to center to give Saugus a 7-2 lead.

Saugus head coach Kyle Mark credited the depth of his team’s lineup for their big third inning.

“I think when you have team at-bats up and down the lineup, good things will happen,” Mark said. “I think we had a lot of good team at-bats, a lot of quality at-bats where it wasn’t trying to chase stats. It was about getting on base so the next girl can get you over so the next girl can drive you in.

“When you do that, you have team approaches, you have team at-bats, you can have long innings and long innings can change the course of the game.”

Carnes, who went 2 for 4, hit a two-run home run to left-center field in the top of the fourth inning to cut Saugus’ lead to 8-4.

West Ranch was trailing 9-5 and had runners at second and third with two outs in the sixth inning, but senior Payton Borland flew out to end the inning.

There were several notable contributions for Saugus, including junior Olivia Frias going 3 for 4 in the leadoff spot and senior Luci Curiel also going 3 for 4.

Mark said he is not looking ahead as Saugus heads into the home stretch of the regular season.

“Right now it’s just one game at a time,” he said.

“We can only play the next game. So right now we’re preparing for our game against Moorpark on Saturday, and we’ll prepare for next week’s games on Monday.”