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A few sharp-eyed spectators for the CIF-SS Division 5 softball final likely noticed the special hand signals flashed by El Toro coach Shannon Tinsley and her players on Saturday.
The Chargers made circles with their hands and hoisted them above their heads to celebrate good plays.
“(They’re) big bubbles,” senior shortstop Kendra Foulds explained. “To stay loose, (and) just stay wild.”
El Toro (20-10) pointed to its relaxed approach and improved team chemistry as two major reasons why it reached its first section final since 1990 and notched its first winning season since 2011.
The Chargers lost to Cajon 2-1 in eight innings in the final but had chances to win and didn’t commit an error.
“This team is very special,” Foulds said. “Everyone just opened up and just let their guards down and bonded together and got past all the little drama that’s in high school. We just all picked each other up really fast.”
“We just stay loose and just play our best softball,” she added.
El Toro made its share of highlight plays against Cajon and Jada Villegas, one of the top sophomore pitchers in SoCal.
The Cypress College-bound Foulds snagged a liner to save at least one run in the fifth inning. Freshman third baseman Camryn Bradshaw drove in the tying run with a single in the bottom half of the inning. And sophomore Kylie Loertscher fired a complete game to duel Villegas.
“The difference between last year and this year is insane,” said Loertscher, whose team finished 7-12 last season and missed the playoffs.
Tinsley helped foster the spirited team environment with the selection of her coaching staff.
The former standout catcher at El Toro built a staff featuring three other alumnus of the school. Her assistants are Steve Krupp, a former standout quarterback, McKenna Kilgore and Luke Bockenstette.
“The girls have been razzing us all season and asking us to wear our letterman jackets to the game,” Tinsley said.
Coaching and sports runs in Tinsley’s blood. The 31-year-old is in her sixth season at El Toro, where she replaced Hall of Fame coach Jim Daugherty.
Her father, Scott, played quarterback at USC and briefly for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Her brother, Trey, starred at quarterback at El Toro and is an offensive quality control assistant for Mississippi State football under Mike Leach, whom he played for at Washington State.
Tinsley even played with, or coached, a few of the siblings of her players at El Toro.
“It’s a family affair around here,” she said.
The journey continues next week in the CIF SoCal Regional playoffs. The pairings are expected to be announced Sunday afternoon.
LOS ALAMITOS STICKS BY PITCHING DECISION
Los Alamitos coach Rob Weil said he had a reliever ready to replace starter Sydney Saldana in the seventh inning of the CIF-SS Division 1 final against Roosevelt on Saturday. The Mustangs scored four runs to rally for a 5-4 victory.
“It was a gut feeling that (Saldana) was going to finish that thing,” he said. “She was keeping the ball down and she was hitting her spots and they were rolling up ground balls and we were playing good defense.”
“We had Ally (Robbins) ready (to pitch). I’m not going to hindsight anything,” Weil added. “We road Syd all year. She did a heck of a job. I felt she deserved to finish this thing. We had a good book on those kids. She handled that part of the lineup (before the seventh).”
KYLEE MAGEE TO START O.C. ALL-STAR GAME
Canyon’s Kylee Magee will start in the circle for the North in the Orange County Softball Coaches Senior All-Star Classic on Wednesday at Deanna Manning Stadium at 6 p.m.
North coach Terry Williams of Villa Park said he considered the move out of respect for the Arizona State-bound Magee, whose team missed the playoffs in Division 3 despite tying for the Crestview League title.
Williams said he ran the idea past his Arizona-bound ace Sydney Somerndike, and she agreed.
South coach Clint Watson of Mission Viejo said he is undecided on his starter.
O.C. HALL OF FAME SELECTIONS
Several former standouts and one coach will be inducted into the O.C. softball Hall of Fame before the all-star game.
They are: Canyon shortstop Megan Bush; El Dorado outfielder Janie Takeda; Foothill outfielder Autumn Champion; Los Alamitos pitcher Stacey Nelson; Marina outfielder Robyn Yorke; Mater Dei shortstop Christina Clark; El Toro pitcher Susan Churchwell; Pacifica infielder Jodie Legaspi; Foothill pitcher Leeann Gonzalez; Villa Park pitcher Brandee McArthur; Brea Olinda catcher Aubree Munro; and Savanna coach Mike Willey.
