Marina Doesn’t Fade, Upsets Huntington Beach in Softball

It was the perfect occasion to write off Marina and its two-year reign as champion, but the Vikings made one thing perfectly clear Tuesday--they weren’t ready to fade into the Sunset League.

Marina answered a shaky start with a fantastic finish, upsetting fifth-ranked Huntington Beach, 3-2, on Alicia Velazquez’s two-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Velazquez’s hard smash down the line past drawn-in third baseman Jessica Walker followed Monica Mora’s triple into a strong wind and capped the most emotional game of the season for Marina, the two-time defending Southern Section champion.

Had Marina (11-11-1, 4-3 in league) lost, it would have been three games behind Fountain Valley with three to play. Huntington Beach (17-8, 5-2) fell into a second-place tie.

Losing pitcher Heather Hibben (10-4, 0.29 ERA) threw only 71 pitches in 7 2/3 innings.

In the first inning, Huntington Beach took a 2-0 lead on two walks, two errors and run-scoring grounders by Danielle Armendariz and Hibben.

Marina promptly tied it--also without a hit--on two errors, Mora’s run-scoring sacrifice and Hibben’s wild pitch.