Thousand Oaks softball shuts out Agoura to keep momentum rolling

THOUSAND OAKS — The Agoura softball team had three runners on base with two outs in the final inning against Thousand Oaks on Thursday afternoon.

Rylee Redmond, a versatile hitter and a difficult out, hit a line drive to left field that third baseman Faith Goldfield quickly snatched to finalize the Lancers’ league-opening 5-0 win.

“This team doesn’t give up,” senior shortstop Ella Neale said. “We all have so much passion for the game and we want to do well, not for ourselves, but for everyone else.”

It was the first time that Thousand Oaks (8-2 overall, 1-0 Marmonte League) had beaten Agoura since Feb. 20, 2019. The Lancers, who were No. 22 in the latest CIF Southern Section power rankings, are now on a three-game win streak.

Thursday’s win was valuable. The Marmonte League is expected to be highly competitive this season.

“It’s one of the hardest leagues in Southern California, the way we beat each other up,” second-year Thousand Oaks coach Heather Spohr said.

Pitcher Claire Kirby threw her first complete-game shutout of the season and gave up five hits while striking out six hitters and walking one in seven innings of work.

The senior Fort Hayes University commit is working on tightening her spin and location this season while also coaching up sophomore pitchers Ava Seeger and Samantha Case.

“They’re so fun to work with because we all have different strengths and things that we’re working on,” Kirby said. “Especially in like games that we split because we have one strength for one pitcher and then we throw in a different pitcher, and they have another strength. It helps the batters stay on their toes.”

The Lancers scored all five of their runs in the first inning using a series of timely hits and taking advantage of two costly Agoura errors.

Freshman Olivia LePage was 1-for-3 with an RBI double in the first inning and Kirby went 2-for-3 with a double.

“We were just putting the ball in play, got a couple doubles and then were really selective with our pitches,” Spohr said. “We got a few walks in there to mix it up and then just taking advantage of the situation. We jumped on their pitcher really fast right away.”

Agoura reached the CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinals last season and returns many players from that team. A new addition, however, is freshman Chaden Chatelain.

Chatelain came in to pitch five scoreless innings against Thousand Oaks and gave up just two hits while recording four strikeouts. She walked one. At the plate, she was 1-for-2 with a double.

The Chargers started the season strong and reached the silver bracket championship game in the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions in early March.

“I have complete confidence that by the end of this season, we’re going to be one of the top teams in not only our league but in the entire county,” Agoura coach Chance Redmond said. “And depending on where we get placed in playoffs, there’s a good chance that you’ll see us deep in a playoff run like you did last year.”