JSerra catcher Mia Krueger cannot stop Orange Lutheran’s Sierra Nichols as she slides across the plate in the game between Orange Lutheran vs. JSerra in a Trinity League softball game at JSerra High School on Friday March 15, 2024. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Orange Lutheran’s softball team extended its Trinity League winning streak to 17 games Friday with a 9-1 win over JSerra at JSerra High.
The Lancers (8-2, 1-0) went undefeated while winning the Trinity League title last season and haven’t lost in league since April 5, 2022.
They are No. 2 in the Register’s Top 25 rankings and No. 3 in this week’s CIF-SS Division 1 poll.
JSerra (8-9, 0-1), which finished second in league last season, is No. 5 in the county and No. 12 in Division 1.
“That’s a great team over there,” Orange Lutheran coach Steve Miklos said of JSerra. “They fight and you saw that all the way through the end. We did a good job and put pressure on them every inning.”
It’s rare that a pitcher’s earned run average increases after allowing just one run, but that was the case Friday for Orange Lutheran pitcher Brianne Weiss.
The Notre Dame signee was coming off a perfect game against Cajon on Wednesday. The lefty was battling a cold Friday and wasn’t as dominant, but was still excellent with one run allowed in a complete game with seven hits allowed and 13 strikeouts.
“All my pitches were working and I have a great catcher behind the plate,” Weiss said.
The big moment in the game for Weiss came in the fourth inning when she faced a rare jam. JSerra loaded the bases with three consecutive walks. Weiss struck out the next three hitters to preserve the shutout.
“I like when pressure situations happen because it only makes me better,” Weiss said. “It almost hypes me up and I feel that I have to step up my game.”
Brianne Weiss faced a rare bases loaded jam with no outs. She struck out the next three hitters to preserve the shutout. 20 consecutive innings without a run alllowed.
Orange Lutheran 7, JSerra 0 in the 5th @ocvarsity @OLuSoftball @ocvarsityguy @BrianneWeiss06 @latsondheimer pic.twitter.com/5wfIwRCbet
— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) March 16, 2024
Weiss, the Register’s 2023 pitcher of the year, now has a 0.79 earned run average with 82 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched.
The game was delayed nearly an hour due to lightning nearby.
Orange Lutheran jumped on JSerra after the delay with four runs in the second inning. Zara Mineo-Schrank scored on a steal of home when Sierra Nichols got caught in a rundown between first and second base.
Grace Harrison drove in a run and Chloe McGreevey hit a two-run double to give Orange Lutheran a 4-0 lead.
The Lancers added two runs in the third inning with a run-scoring single by Cate Medvitz and a run-scoring groundout by Carlyn Snyder.
“Our offense is a little different this year,” Miklos said. “We don’t have the power that we’ve had in the past but we are fast. We run well and put a lot of pressure on teams. It’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Kaylee Layfield, a George Washington University signee, broke Weiss’ streak of nine innings without a hit with a single for JSerra in the third inning. Layfield went 2 for 3 with a walk. Reese Ferrel also had two hits for the Lions.
Freshman Angelina Jimenez hit a solo home run over the right-center field wall to give JSerra a run. The run was the first Weiss had allowed in 20 innings.
Mineo-Schrank, Alejandro Rodriguez and Kai Minor each drove in runs for the Lancers in the late innings.
Orange Lutheran will play at Santa Margarita in a league game Wednesday.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for JSerra. The Lions will play La Mirada in a Downey Tournament game Saturday.
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