Jaliane Brooks leads Los Alamitos softball past Marina for Sunset League title

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HUNTINGTON BEACH — Los Alamitos softball coach Rob Weil had flashbacks as he watched his sophomore pitcher Jaliane Brooks on Tuesday.

“She was in rare form like she was toward the end of last year during playoffs,” he said.

And so were the Griffins.

With Brooks reviving her role as a pitcher who can perform under pressure, Los Alamitos edged Marina 2-1 to capture the outright Sunset League title on a windy day at Marina High.

Marina’s Ava Kim led off the seventh inning with a solo home run to center but Brooks retired the next three batters as the Griffins (18-8, 11-1) avenged a 2-1 loss to the Vikings (19-8, 10-2) in the first round of league play.

Brooks, who pitched Los Alamitos to the CIF-SS Division 2 title last season, tossed a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and four walks.

After Brooks ended the game with a strikeout, catcher Jordan Castrellon slammed the ball into the dirt and the Griffins mobbed their ace on the infield.

Last season, Brooks threw a 10-inning shutout in a 3-0 win against JSerra in the finals. On Tuesday, she dueled with Marina ace Mia Valbuena, a senior who signed with Michigan.

“It was a really hard challenge,” Brooks said of beating Marina, the reigning CIF-SS Division 3 champion. “Playing in the championship last year showed me that there’s a lot at stake.”

Brooks praised the Griffins’ energy in the dugout and chemistry.

“The dugout comes first,” she said, “(and) having each other’s backs and passing the bat.”

Los Alamitos used a team-oriented approach to score both of its runs.

In the seventh, senior Faith Pulsifer drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded to score Julia Gordon for a 2-0 lead. Pulsifer stepped to the plate after Marina intentionally walked cleanup batter Erin Denny with the count 1-1.

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“Her being selfless, it just shows what this team is all about,” Weil said of Pulsifer.

Los Alamitos also scored with two outs in the sixth.

After Marina intentionally walked Alexis Galicia with a 2-1 count to bring Brooks to the plate with runners at first and second, Brooks singled to left. The Vikings threw home and then tried to pick off Denny rounding third but the Griffins forced an errant throw.

Denny scored on the play.

Los Alamitos went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position before Brooks’ single.

“You put pressure on teams and you force them to make plays,” Weil said. “(Denny) was definitely hung out (off third). I did not do a good job as a coach to stop her early enough but it worked out to our advantage.”

Weil, a seven-time section championship coach, became emotional afterward. The Griffins won their fourth consecutive league title and 11th in his tenure.

They have featured four new infielders and a catcher this season.

“Hard works pay off. It doesn’t matter what you do in life,” he said. “I just kept telling them ‘Just believe. Keep believing in what we’re doing.’ “

“I get emotional because I know what they put into this,” the coach added of his players.

Valbuena allowed one earned run on four hits. She had 10 strikeouts with six walks.

Marina co-coach Dan Hay said his team battled nerves as it aimed for its first league title since 2019. “We’re a strong team,” he said. “We were 10-0 (in league) going into Huntington (Beach last week) and we ended losing that game 2-1.”

“The league championship was more important to us this year than going back-to-back at CIF,” the coach added. “It really was.”

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