Kennedy Can’t Keep Up With Jones, 6-0

Tami Jones was just too much for top-seeded Kennedy High.

El Camino Real got plenty of contributions but Jones stole the show as the Conquistadores routed top-seeded Kennedy, 6-0, to win the City Section 4-A Division title Tuesday at UCLA’s Easton Field.

Jones (14-2), who switched from shortstop to pitching last season, pitched a two-hitter, struck out eight and walked none. She didn’t allow the Golden Cougars a hit until there was one out in the fifth.

“I was just hitting my spots. Everything was working,” Jones said. “I had no worries out there.”

Jones, the El Camino Real leadoff hitter, had three hits, scored two runs, drove in a run and reached base all four times she came to the plate.

Jones’ effort inspired her teammates, who clinched El Camino Real’s eighth City title in the last 12 years.

“She’s like a rock,” said junior Ramona Shelburne, who had two doubles and drove in three runs. “We were real nervous at the start but Tami ignited us.”

The spark was enough for the second-seeded Conquistadores to pound out 12 hits off Kennedy’s Sandra Durazo (18-2).

Durazo dominated throughout the season, allowing four earned runs in 142 innings.

Kennedy (18-2) defeated El Camino Real, 2-1 in a 10-inning game during Northwest Valley Conference play.

Shelburne’s double scored Jones in the bottom of the first inning for a 1-0 lead.

El Camino Real (17-4) pushed the lead to 5-0 by the third, helped by run-scoring doubles from Jones and Ashley Redlin.

“Kennedy is a very good team,” El Camino Real Coach Neils Ludlow said. “If we came out tomorrow and played, I’m sure it would be a different situation.”

Jones didn’t allow a baserunner until the fourth inning, when Durazo reached base on an error by Ciana Baca.

Patti Del Real broke up the no-hit bid in the fifth with a one-out single.

Jennifer Del Real had a single in the seventh for the Golden Cougars and advanced to third on two wild pitches.

But Jones struck out Kelli Moorman and Patti Del Real grounded out to end the game.