Marina edges Edison, takes lead in Sunset League softball race

HUNTINGTON BEACH — When Marina High defeated Edison back on April 16, the Vikings walked away with a surprising, 10-0 mercy-rule victory at Edison.

When the teams met Thursday at Marina, the game had a completely different feel to it and with plenty riding on the outcome, this showdown went down to the wire.

Marina scored the final two runs of the game, including the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, to grind out a 2-1 victory that gave the Vikings sole possession of first place in the Sunset League with two games to play.

The Vikings, ranked No. 4 in Division 1, upped their league mark to 7-1 and went to 22-3 overall. The Chargers slipped from a share of first place and are 6-2 in league and 16-9 overall.

“We’ve been struggling a bit and have been in a bit of a slump offensively,” Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. “We had been hitting the ball real well but in the past few weeks, our timing has been a bit off. We did just enough to win this one.”

Marina timed this one at the right time.

In the bottom of the seventh, designated player Samantha Agamaite drew a lead-off walk and took second on a wild pitch with Tera Blanco at the plate. On a 2-1 pitch, Blanco sent an opposite field one-hopper into right field, which was fielded by Edison’s Ciara DeMarco. The senior’s throw toward home was intercepted near the mound by pitcher Sammy Cordova as Agamaite rounded third.

Cordova threw to home but the ball squirted away from catcher Reis Birkett. Agamaite hit the dirt on a wide slide, and swiped her hand across the outside tip of the plate, to end the game.

“The girls played really hard and the game could have gone either way,” first-year Edison Coach Kim Ensey said. “It all came down to which team could come up with that one hit. It was a much, much better game than the first time we played them.”

Edison took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Karley Wester. Marina didn’t draw even until the bottom of the fourth. Keala Cordeiro started a two-out rally when she laced a single on a full count to center field. The Vikings loaded the bases on a walk and hit batter, bringing lead-off hitter Sydney McCollum to the plate. The sophomore proceeded to single up the middle to score Cordeiro.

Blanco got the pitching win and ran her record to 22-3.

Marina and Edison both play 3:15 p.m. Sunset League road games Tuesday. The Vikings travel to face Newport Harbor while the Chargers play at rival Fountain Valley.