Softball: Corona Santiago tilts rivalry with Norco decidedly in its favor

From the outset it was obvious that Corona Santiago’s hitters were dialed in on Norco pitcher Teagan Gerhart.

Balls were pulled, balls were hit hard, they were hit out of the infield and eventually, they were hit out of the park.

Meredith Hackett and Kamerin May hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and Kristin May drove in five runs as The Times’ top-ranked team scored an 8-3 Mountain View League victory over No. 2 Norco.

It was a matchup of state powers, too. Santiago was ranked No. 2 by CalHiSports.com and Norco was ranked No. 6. There is no telling what the rankings will be next week because Santiago was upset Tuesday, 1-0, by Corona Centennial, a team that until then had not won a league game.

Still, there may be no better softball rivalry in the Southland than Santiago-Norco, but this one was one-sided in favor of the home team.

“We had to make a statement,” Santiago Coach John Perez said. “We wanted to make sure there was no doubt in people’s minds."

Santiago (22-2, 8-1) is on the verge of winning a share of its sixth league title in eight years and 12th overall. It has a two-game lead with three to play, and owns the tie-breaker against second-place Norco, which it has beaten three times in league play.

Norco (20-5, 5-3) was at least able to score this time. In the first two games, the Cougars were shut out by Kamerin May, a junior who has committed to San Diego State along with her sister, catcher Kristin.

May (22-2) allowed only two hits Thursday, walking five and striking out nine, and all three runs were unearned after errors on what should have been easy plays. Even though Santiago hit like the best team in the Southland, it didn’t play defense like it, committing three errors.

Gerhart (19-5) gave up six runs, walked one and struck out only two before giving way to left-hander Brianna Smith in the fifth inning. Smith gave up three hits, all in the sixth inning when Santiago scored two more runs.

“It’s different the third time you play a team because they want to beat you really bad,” said Kristin May. “It was an accomplishment to win all three, especially against Norco.”

With the score tied, 1-1, Hackett lined a two-run homer over the right-field fence, and Kamerin May followed with a fly ball over the center-field fence for a 4-1 lead. Kristin May had an RBI single in the first inning that scored her sister, who had doubled, a two-run double in the fourth inning; and a two-run single in the sixth.

Hackett said that Gerhart “threw a great game, but we had something to prove today."

Hackett, the Illinois-bound first baseman who hit her eighth homer of the season, said she thought Santiago was better because of its loss to Centennial. “It made us open our eyes and be like we can’t take anybody lightly, we can’t take anybody for granted.

“Every day is a new day and anybody can beat anybody.”

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image by Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times