Softball

Games are at El Nido Field in Torrance. Contact Bruce Difley at 310.433.5513 with any questions. Root root root for the home team!

Game 1 (7/10/21): St. Cross 9, “Nova 2” 6
It was a fine summer day as the South Bay Church Athlete League (SBCAL) kicked off its softball season on July 10th. This is our 28th season in SBCAL, and we opened the new season with a solid 9-6 win over the second team of Nova CC (Torrance). Nolan Hyer had an excellent day at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a huge grand slam that capped off a 6-run 3rd inning. It was also a breakout game for 3 sophomore players: Seth Barnes went 3-for-3 with a pair apiece of runs and RBIs, Madi Weissenberg netted a stolen base and a run, and Clement Ogar came up with 2 RBIs and a run. Sean McCue also came into the game late and delivered an RBI double to cap things off. In addition, Shannon Shannon debuted for St. Cross and made a splash with her triple in the 5th. A solid defensive performance limited Nova 2’s bats to just 6 runs, and the result moves St. Cross to 1-0 on the season. Autumn Hoffman was the winning pitcher.

Game 2 (7/17/21): St. Cross 17, “Nova 2” 10
In a rematch of the last game, St. Cross and Nova 2 went head-to-head again, with St. Cross once again emerging victorious, 17-10. Sean McCue had a tremendous game, going 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, a home run, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs while pitching a great game on the mound. Rev. Stephen also scored 4 runs and played a disciplined game, going 2-for-2 with 2 walks and a double. Other standout performances include Autumn Hoffman netting up 4 singles and 2 RBIs, Andy Simon going 4-for-4 with 4 runs and a double, Brett Tittle racking up 3 hits and 4 RBIs, and Ellie Weissenberg making her season debut by going 2-for-3. It was also the St. Cross softball debut for Adam Tittle, who had a solid performance defensively and hit a single in his first at-bat. With the back-to-back sweep of Nova 2, St. Cross moves to 2-0 on the season.

Game 3 (7/24/21): St. Cross 7, Bayview Baptist 0 (awarded)
Due to a breakdown in communication, St. Cross’ opponent for our third game, Bayview Baptist (San Pedro) did not show up at the scheduled time. After discussions with the commissioner and umpire, St. Cross was awarded a 7-0 victory, and Bayview Baptist played a make-up game later that evening. In lieu of an actual game, the team decided to hold a small 6-on-6 scrimmage instead and had a great time.

Game 4 (8/7/21): St. Cross 11, “Gethsemane 2” 10
After a bye week on July 31st, St. Cross returned to action with a big doubleheader, walking off their first game with a 11-10 win against Gethsemane 2 (Long Beach). Sean McCue hit a monster 3-run home run, tallying 4 RBIs on the day and a run. It was also the season debut of Shane Matthews, who came up with a double, 2 RBIs, and a run. Clement Ogar also had a big game, going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs. Other notable performances include Andy Simon’s big solo home run, Rev. Stephen’s 3 hits and a run, and the first hit of the season for Andrew Welch. After a tight game full of outstanding defensive plays from both sides, the game went to the bottom of the last inning tied 10-10. With two outs, coach Bruce Difley hit a line drive through the gap that brought Clement home, walking it off. Bruce finished the game 2-for-2 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and a walk, pushing St. Cross over the line and to 4-0 on the season.

Game 5 (8/7/21): St. Cross 17, Good Community 2
In the second game of the doubleheader, St. Cross came up big, smashing Good Community Church (Torrance) 17-2. Everyone recorded a hit and 12 of 14 batters scored a run. Sean McCue (batting .818 on the year) had a big game at the plate (4 RBIs and a double), but he also pitched a gem, recording 5 strikeouts. Andy Simon (.615) scored 3 different times, capping it off with yet another homer; and Rev. Stephen (1.000) had a big game leading off, going 2-for-2 with a walk, a double, an RBI, and 3 runs. Some other big performances included an RBI and 2 hits for Autumn Hoffman (.727), a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI and a double for Shane Matthews (.667), a 3-for-3 game with 2 RBIs and a run for Shannon Shannon (.667), and RBI singles for speedsters Madi Weissenberg (.300) and Andrew Welch (.222). It was also a big game for David and Rebecca Singer, who combined for 3 hits, a run, and a 1-2-3 inning in their St. Cross debuts. The game also featured great defense: Shannon and Andrew both made good catches in the outfield, and Shane Matthews (.667) and Madi had a great heads-up play to get a runner out at home. The win pushes St. Cross to 5-0 and to the top of the league.

Game 6 (8/14/21): Bayview Baptist 19, St. Cross 18
Despite their best efforts, St. Cross lost for the first time this season, an intense 19-18 loss to Bayview Baptist (San Pedro). Bayview’s young bats were hot that day, quickly racking up 19 runs by playing plenty of small ball. Going into the last inning, St. Cross would have only 3 outs to make up the deficit of 19-9, and amazingly, it almost happened. The team went through the entire order, racking up 11 hits and 9 runs, and finished the game down by 1 run instead of 10. Clement Ogar (.714) had a big game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double, 2 runs, and 4 RBIs, pushing him to double digits in hits and RBIs on the season. In addition to netting a strikeout on the mound, Autumn Hoffman (1-1, .786) went 3-for-3 with 3 runs. It was a big day as well for the young players: Andrew Welch (.273) came up with a walk, a hit, and an RBI; Madi Weissenberg (.417) had a double to go with her RBI and run; Andy Simon (.667) continued his hot streak by getting 2 more hits, a walk, an RBI, and 3 runs; and in her St. Cross debut, Athena Singer (.667) went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a run. Other standout performances include the first hit and RBI of the season for Jim Sullivan (.125), 3 hits and 2 runs for David Singer (.833), and 3 hits and 3 RBIS for Rebecca Singer (.667). Despite the loss, St. Cross is still in first place in the SBCAL standings at 5-1, and winning out will guarantee the title.

Game 7 (8/21/21): St. Cross 18, “Gethsemane 2” 13
With sights on a title, St. Cross came up with a strong 18-13 victory over Gethsemane 2 (Long Beach). Seth Barnes had a huge day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with 3 runs, 5 RBIs, 2 home runs, and finishing a triple short of the cycle. It was also a strong all-around performance for Andy Simon, who came up with 3 hits, a pair each of runs and RBIs, and a defensive gem at shortstop highlighted by two pivotal double plays. The young core showed up at the plate and on the bases: Athena Singer had a walk, a single, a run, and an RBI on the day; Adam Tittle had a good return to the team with two hits and two runs; Madi Weissenberg had a good defensive game behind the plate and also came up with a run and an RBI; and Andrew Welch had a big double in the 2nd inning that drove in two. Other notable performers include 4 strikeouts on the mound for Sean McCue (as well as a 3-run home run and a double at the plate, 3 runs from Bruce Difley; 2 hits and an RBI for Shannon Shannon; a walk, a single, and a run for Autumn Hoffman; and Brett Tittle reaching base 3 times.

Game 8 (8/21/21): St. Cross 12, Good CC 12
In the final game of the season (and the nightcap of a doubleheader), St. Cross won the lower division softball title of the South Bay Church Athletic League in a scrappy 12-12 draw with Good Community Church (Torrance). Sean McCue (.722 batting, 4-0 pitching) capped off his season with a double, a triple, and 2 RBIs at the plate, as well as 4 strikeouts on the mound. Seth Barnes (.900) also finished his season strong, going 2-for-3 with a single and a 2-run home run. It was a stellar team performance, with everyone getting on base and 13 of 14 players coming up with either a run or an RBI. Andy Simon (.682) had himself a triple and a run, Brett Tittle (.778) went 2-for-2 with 2 runs, Athena Singer (.429) drove in 2 runs, Madi Weissenberg (.438) reached base twice and drove in a run, Autumn Hoffman (.684) netted a big RBI single in the 1st inning, Clement Ogar (.684) hit a monster RBI double, and Adam Tittle (.500) had some fantastic heads-up baserunning as he reached third on an infield single. Since we have a bye week for the final week of the season (combined with the next best team only able to reach a record of 6-2 at best), this draw clinches the title for St. Cross with a record of 6-1-1.

Thank you Matt Welch for doing the stats and write ups. It was a valuable and big help!