Softball: Moon's shot gives Torrance some space in league

As moonshots go, this one was pretty big. Jamie Moon's two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning propelled Torrance to a 3-2 Pioneer League victory over North Torrance on Thursday.

Big? The biggest.

Because if North had beaten Torrance -- and heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Saxons had a 2-1 lead -- it would have created a three-way tie for first place in the league.

And that would have been bad for Torrance.

Torrance came into the final week of the regular season No. 1 in the Southern Section Division V ranking and the probable top-seeded team in the playoffs when pairings are released Monday.

But that advantage would have gone down the drain because a coin flip Wednesday determined that in the event of a three-way tie, El Segundo (20-6, 8-2), which was No. 3 in the division, would be the league's first-place representative, followed by Torrance (24-4, 9-1) and then North (19-10, 7-3).

That's so messed up, North would have then beaten the No. 1 team and dropped down a spot.

"If giving us the top seed keeps North and El Segundo on the opposite side of the bracket, then it's a huge deal," Torrance Coach Don Glavich said of Moon's shot. "Our tightest games of the year have been against those schools."

So Torrance is likely to be the top-seeded team in the playoffs, where it belongs. Barring any "creative" issues, El Segundo should be seeded second and North third, which would put them on the other side of the bracket from Torrance.

That's how big Moon's shot was.

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www.nasa.gov