TORRANCE — While there isn’t a scoreboard installed at the West Torrance softball field, the Warriors players paid no attention to the zero in the hit column while in the dugout Thursday.
West Torrance pitcher Audrey Lopetegui’s dominating effort, plus some good fortune and savvy base running by the Warriors, were enough to defeat visiting Fullerton 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
West (24-4), the top seed in Division 3, will host Etiwanda in the semifinals Saturday at 3:15 p.m.
Lopetegui tossed a five-hit shutout with seven strikeouts.
“I’d say that all my pitches were working, but I couldn’t have done it without my catcher (Raleigh Chung),” said Lopetegui, who didn’t allow a walk. “It was a team effort and my defense did well behind me, as well.
“The defense did awesome. We had no errors. So that really helped me and I’m so grateful for this team. … I felt very relieved once my team got those three runs for me.”
FINAL🥎: West Torrance 3, Fullerton 0 @breezepreps @ocvarsityguy
Audrey Lopetegui finishes off a five-hit shutout. She struck out 7 without a walk.
Warriors advance despite getting no-hit. Two Fullerton errors in the 1st and 3rd innings spoils SP Katelynn Mathews’ 5 hitless IP pic.twitter.com/PWoPhOarXJ
— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) May 9, 2024
Fullerton (23-8) was unable to do the same for its freshman pitcher, Katelynn Mathews, who threw five hitless innings and struck out three to go with two walks.
All three of the freshman’s runs allowed were unearned.
A pair of errors at shortstop, including the second with two outs in the bottom of the first, allowed Warriors second baseman Iliana Gallegos to score for a 1-0 lead.
Gallegos reached with one out, stole second and came all the way around after Chung’s bouncing grounder squirted away into shallow left field.
“Our approach all year has been: make the defense work for it,” West coach Jason Belcher said. “Making a really good team play defense, you get lucky sometimes and capitalize on it. We were able to get the runners over and get ’em in, and however we can get ’em in, we get ’em in.”
END 1: West Torrance 1, Fullerton 0 @breezepreps @ocvarsityguy
The Warriors take advantage of two errors (both at SS), and the second coming with two outs, to take the early lead. pic.twitter.com/hY4Z64DIwa
— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) May 9, 2024
Warriors center fielder Charlotte White reached on another Tribe error at shortstop with one out in the third. She moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt. White then stole third as Gallegos drew a walk.
As Fullerton catcher Maiah Rodriguez unsuccessfully attempted to throw out White, Gallegos never stopped running and moved up to second on the throw.
Belcher said it was a designed move that allowed Gallegos to advance.
“It’s huge,” Belcher said. “I kind of gave (White) a sign to get over to third base because I figured their catcher was going to try to frame the pitch.”
Mathews then got West shortstop Bella Narez to hit a slow bouncer to third, but Emi Todoroki’s on-target throw to first was dropped to extend the inning and White and Gallegos both scored to push the Warriors’ lead to 3-0.
END 3: West Torrance 3, Fullerton 0 @breezepreps @ocvarsityguy
Now a drop at first base on what should have been the final out allows two more West runs to score from 2nd and 3rd.
Tough luck for Fullerton SP Katelynn Mathews, who hasn’t allowed a hit. pic.twitter.com/M0gfm1GVhp
— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) May 9, 2024
Fullerton coach Trevor Holton was proud of the effort from Mathews, who got the start while ace and starting designated player Malaya Majam-Finch (knee) was available, if needed.
“(Mathews) pitched great,” Holton said. “She’s come a long way and pretty much threw a no-hitter. She kept us in the game.
“We knew the game was going to be low-scoring, and I said (to the team) it was going to come down to whoever made the least amount of mistakes and whoever capitalized on their chances.”
Mathews allowed just one walk over her final two innings before Tianna Salcido tossed a perfect sixth inning. Of her 21 batters faced, Mathews allowed just four balls out of the infield.
“I’d say going curve, screwball and then maybe curve again was really working,” Mathews said of the most successful pitch sequences.
Lopetegui, though, made it tough for Fullerton to make any contact. She recorded at least one strikeout in every inning except the sixth.
Fullerton’s lone opportunities with runners in scoring position were in the first and third innings.
After allowing back-to-back singles, a force out at third and strikeout ended the first threat.
Lopetegui again stranded runners at first and second by getting a soft liner to escape the third.
“My curveball and changeup was really on today,” Lopetegui said. “I feel like that was a great factor in it.”
MID 3: Still 1-0 West Torrance
Lopetegui allowed a pair of soft two-out singles before this soft liner to third to get out of the inning. She’s also up to four Ks. pic.twitter.com/dw0UJQH40d
— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) May 9, 2024
