GRANADA HILLS — Last season felt painfully incomplete for the Granada Hills Charter softball team.
The Highlanders reached the Los Angeles City Section Open Division championship game, but lost to Carson by one run after eight innings.
While last season seemed fractured, the Highlanders have a complete, balanced team this season and their sights are set on winning the Open Division championship. They’re out to a 3-0 start in West Valley League play after Wednesday’s 6-0 shutout of El Camino Real.
“Our goal right now is to get to that last game (of the playoffs),” Highlanders pitcher Addison Moorman said. “That’s the only one that matters.”
Moorman, a junior, has been leading the team this season through her work in the circle. She struck out nine hitters and gave up four hits in seven innings of work. The Lehigh commit is 8-1 in the circle this season.
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The confidence that’s felt by the Highlanders (16-1 overall, 3-0 West Valley League) has empowered her, she says, and the relationship she has with catcher Sam Esparza helps. Esparza had caught Moorman since 2017 and the two are so close that coach Ivan Garcia has nicknamed them “the bridesmaids” because he’s convinced they’ll be in each other’s wedding parties someday.
“She knows how to fix me. She knows how to fix everything,” Moorman said of Esparza. “She’s like a pitching coach behind the plate.”
Granada Hills got its offense going early against El Camino Real (8-7, 1-2) and piled on four runs in the second inning. Jeannette Camarena (2 for 3, two doubles) doubled to get on base, then stole third. Malia Plourde drove her in with a single to start the scoring.
El Camino Real got two runners on base in the top of the third inning when Sarah Delgado and Nerissa Winokur both singled, but the Royals were unable to bring either of them in.
The ECR offense couldn’t manufacture a run, but the defense held Granada Hills to its lowest scoring total of in a West Valley League game this season. Freshman pitcher Remi Glassman went all six innings and had seven strikeouts.
Junior Sarah Delgado was originally slated to pitch, but switched to center field after getting hit in the foot with a ball at practice Tuesday.
“Today we showed what we’re capable of if we play hard and leave it on the field,” El Camino Real coach Jodi Borenstein said. “The result is not what we want. But the competitive competitiveness and the fight is what we want.”
Camarena put up two more runs when she hit a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning, driving in Lainey Brown and Elyse Diaz. They two both singled to set up Camarena’s big hit.
Those three hitters are part of an upperclassmen-heavy team, and almost all of the team’s players experienced last season’s postseason run and the motivation that it produced.
“I think what happened last year really left a sour taste in their mouth,” Garcia said. “They look more focused. That’s the biggest difference.”
More softball scores from Wednesday:
Highland 7, Canyon 0
Thousand Oaks 5, Santa Clara 1
Grace 12, Foothill Tech 0
North Hollywood 27, Grant 3
Chavez 17, Poly 3
Chatsworth 6, Taft 3
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