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SANTA ANA — Orange Lutheran freshman Kai Minor saw the ball skip past third base and knew she could race home with the winning run.
So did Lancers softball coach Steve Miklos.
“(Her) speed is awesome,” he said. “She’s the real deal.”
Minor showed that again Tuesday and helped lead the Lancers to a breakthrough victory in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.
The center fielder tripled with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning and scored on an error on the play as Orange Lutheran stunned No. 2-seeded Villa Park 2-1 at Barry Turner Field.
Orange Lutheran’s Kai Minor (2) is joined by celebrating teammates after Minor score the winning run against Villa Park in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran’s Kai Minor slides into home to score the winning run against Villa Park in extra innings in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Minor hit a triple and scored after the throw to third got away from Villa Park’s Bethany Spurr. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran’s Kai Minor, left, gets a hug from Tessa Jerue, right, after Minor scored the winning run against Villa Park in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
VIlla Park’s Bethany Spurr (44) is consoled by teammates after the Spartans lost to Orange Lutheran in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran pitcher Brianne Weiss delivers a pitch against Villa Park in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
VIlla Park’s Jordyn Lawhon (5) is safe at first after the throw hits her in the leg as it gets by Orange Lutheran’s Emi Todoroki, right, covering first in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
VIlla Park’s pitcher Sydney Somnerdike delivers a pitch against Orange Lutheran in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran’s Kai Minor, left, slides safely into third base for a triple as VIlla Park’s third baseman Bethany Spurr takes the throw from the outfield in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. The ball got away from Spurr and Minor was able to score the winning run. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran’s Kai Minor, left, runs toward home to score as the ball gets away from VIlla Park’s third baseman Bethany Spurr, right, in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran first baseman Kiki Estrada, right, stretches to take the throw from right field to make the out at first on VIlla Park’s Tiana Poole in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran’s Kiki Estrada reacts after making the put out at first base on VIlla Park’s Tiana Poole with a throw from right field in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
VIlla Park outfielder Claire Duckworth makes the catch of a Orange Lutheran fly ball for an out in the third inning in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Orange Lutheran’s Kiki Estrada heads for home after hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against Villa Park to tie the score 1-1 in the second round of the CIF-SS Division1 softball playoff in Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Minor slapped the triple, her sixth of the season, over the head of the left fielder head and slid into third base to beat the relay throw and tag. As she popped to her feet, Minor saw the ball loose off third and raced home to score on a head-first slide before being mobbed by teammates.
“I had to go in head first,” Minor said. “That (type of play) has happened to me I don’t even know how many times. I was, ‘OK, I got this.’ “
And just like that, Orange Lutheran (21-8) beat the Spartans (24-5), ranked No. 1 in Orange County, to reach the quarterfinals Thursday against Gahr at Barry Turner Field.
The Lancers lost two extra-inning games to rival Mater Dei in the Trinity League and fell to Canyon in the finals of the Carew Classic but rallied from a 1-0 deficit against Arizona-bounce ace Sydney Somerndike.
Sophomore left-hander Brianne Weiss used her off-speed pitch among others to record 12 strikeouts and out-duel Somerndike (eight strikeouts). And Arkansas-bound Kiki Estrada led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run to tie the score 1-1.
“We wanted it more than they did,” said Weiss, who improved to 18-4. “We know what we’re capable of. It just takes that one person to stick their foot in the ground and really find something inside them that they’ve never found before.
“That’s what we did today.”
Estrada launched the first pitch she saw in the ninth over the tall fence in left center for her ninth home run. The senior credited a chat with Minor before the at-bat for giving her confidence against Somerndike (14-1).
“That positive, self-talk was the reason I was up there swinging first pitch,” said Estrada, who homered two innings after Tessa Jerue doubled off the fence in left center on a near, walk-off home run.
Villa Park took a 1-0 lead in the top of the ninth on a two-out RBI single by Jordyn Lawhon, the No. 9 batter who drove in Martina Gutierrez.
Villa Park vs. Orange Lutheran among top matchups in second round of CIF-SS softball playoffs
“I thought that was it,” said Villa Park coach Terry Williams, whose squad played without standout catcher Brianne Kang (illness). “Sydney battled. I don’t think she was at full conditioning and strength coming back (from the ankle injury). They had two great players in that lineup and they both hurt us.”
