The Garden Grove High softball team defeated Los Amigos with a five-inning mercy rule in Garden Grove League action on Thursday, April 4. Garden Grove did the deed with a 10-0 victory that featured both impressive hitting and a stellar pitching performance on the road.
“We played alright,” Garden Grove head coach John Petre said. “We didn’t walk too many players … and that’s always important.”
Indeed.
The Garden Grove High softball team defeated Los Amigos with a five-inning mercy rule in Garden Grove League action on Thursday, April 4. Garden Grove did the deed with a 10-0 victory that featured both impressive hitting and a stellar pitching performance on the road.
“We played alright,” Garden Grove head coach John Petre said. “We didn’t walk too many players … and that’s always important.”
Indeed.
Argonauts starting pitcher Dani Des Lauries did not walk a single batter to earn the shutout – her first of the season – and bump her record to 2-2. The southpaw finished with five strikeouts, surrendered just two hits and allowed no runs.
“It felt good,” said Des Lauries, a third-year varsity player. “My curveball was working well today.”
Her effort allowed the Argonauts (6-5, 2-0) to remain tied for first place with Rancho Alamitos in the league standings.
Last year, Garden Grove shared the league crown with Rancho Alamitos, which earned the split by winning the final game of the regular season. Despite that setback, Garden Grove got hot in the postseason and won four straight to reach the CIF Division-IV final round. However, Kaiser defeated Garden Grove in a 1-0 thriller to capture the title.
In their latest contest, the Argonauts finished with 14 hits and committed no errors. They didn’t wait long to dent the scoreboard, either, posting two runs in the top of the first inning and three in the second to create a comfortable 5-0 cushion. They then broke the game wide open in the fourth with a five-run surge to put the mercy rule into effect.
Garden Grove’s Jenavee Peres went 3-for-3 with three RBI. She also blasted homer, which marked her fourth of the season. Sophomore Kaitlynn Williams scored three runs and also batted 3-for-3, but with a trio of singles. Ashley Sutter, Desiree Rascon and Des Lauries all went 2-for-3 efforts with an RBI each. Additionally, sophomore Celeste Villagrana smacked a triple that scored a run and freshman Alyssa Fernandez knocked in a pair with her lone hit.
Des Lauries, who had not won a start since March 2, threw her first complete game of the season – despite the mercy rule shortening the game to five innings. Her effort lowered her season ERA to 3.82 from 22 innings of work. Impressively, she’s only walked five batters, struck out 15, and of the 23 hits she’s surrendered only three were for extra bases.
Des Lauries continues to contribute offensively, too. She owns a .458 batting average, which includes three doubles and home run.
Yet Peres remains Garden Grove’s biggest bat. The junior owns a .500 batting average and has knocked in 12 RBI. She also plays practically everywhere in the field.
Garden Grove returned to action over the weekend. It faced Mater Dei in the Woodbridge Classic on Saturday, April 6 (score not available). The program will remain on spring break for the rest of this week and will not return to action until on April 16, when it visits Santiago at 3:15 p.m.
Garden Grove will face Rancho Alamitos on April 18.
