By Mark Seraydarian

Timely hitting and solid pitching last Wednesday helped the varsity girls’ softball team defeat rival Flintridge Sacred Heart 5-4. 

With the victory, the team, coached by Terry Elledge, moved into a tie for second place with Chaminade in the Mission League.

Julie Fernandez ’08 hit a double and a home run to lead the offense while starter Deena Margolin ’07 improved her record to 5-2.  Freshman Christina Cavanaugh ’10 struck out four in relief work to ice the win.

“It wasn’t our best performance, but we still pulled it out, so that shows something about our team,” Elledge said.

A showdown with Chaminade last Friday was rained out, as was a game last Saturday against Westchester in the El Segundo tournament.

Fernandez has been a constant contributor to the offense, leading the team with a .522 batting average while batting second. 

She also tops the team’s charts in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.  She is second on the team in runs batted in, following Tracy Thompson’s ’07 12 with 10 of her own.

“Personally, I want to lead the Mission League in hitting,” Fernandez said. 

So far she has accomplished her goal, currently leading the Mission League in batting average by a substantial margin.  The second place batter is batting .477, 45 points less.

The Bucknell-bound Margolin teams with Cavanaugh to lead a deep pitching staff that also includes Fernandez and Emma Katz ’09.

“We’re in good shape if the pitching can execute what it has shown signs of doing,”  Elledge said.  “We’re hot and cold.”

Last season the team finished 12-13 overall but only 3-7 in league games. 

This year they are 9-7, but have a 3-2 league record, already equaling last season’s league win tally.  To make the playoffs, they must finish top three in the Mission League.

“I think that this season we can make it through a couple rounds of playoffs,” Fernandez said.  “This is the best team that I have been on in my three years here.”

“They’re working hard,” Elledge said. “We have three freshmen and one senior who hasn’t played before [Ally Young], so it’s a work in progress.”

If there is a certain area the team should sharpen, “it is our fielding,” Elledge said.  “We give up too many un-earned runs.”

In the win over Sacred-Heart, the Wolverines committed five errors.  Out of the four runs given up, only one was earned.

This afternoon the girls play for the first time since the Sacred Heart game against Notre Dame at 3:45 p.m.. 

Friday they play perennial powerhouse Alemany.

“Alemany would be a huge win,” Elledge said.  “Everything has to come together, the pitching, the fielding, but I think we can do it.”