LPL titles still up for grabs in Friday finales

Posted: May 10, 2012 10:31 PM by Andrew Masuda
Updated: May 10, 2012 11:59 PM

LPL baseball, softball titles up for grabs in Friday finales

While the PAC 7 League baseball and softball titles are already spoken for that is not the case in the Los Padres League. Lompoc and Templeton baseball, while Cabrillo and Nipomo softball are still battling for the LPL titles headed into Friday's league finales.

Nipomo softball practiced on Thursday to prepare to host the Conquistadores. According to MaxPreps, the Titans are 8-3 in league play, while the Conquistadores are 7-4. Within the last 48 hours, Cabrillo was forced to forfeit a league game it won earlier this month at Santa Maria for unknown reasons.

So rather than enter the showdown in a tie for first place, the Titans hold a one game lead. Nipomo shared the title with Morro Bay last year. This season, the Titans want the title for themselves. "It's very important. I think we're all very excited to get it all by ourselves this year and it'd be a big deal because it'd be the first that we'd get all by ourselves," said Nipomo co-captain Courtney Cuzick. The junior pitcher leads the league and ranks eighth in the state with 252 strikeouts.

"Our team has come a long way this year and it should be really exciting and hopefully we'll get the win," added junior shortstop Gianna Abatti, who's hitting .306 this season with a team-high 22 runs scored.

Nipomo edged Cabrillo 1-0 earlier in the season. Cuzick struck out 11 in the complete game victory.

In the baseball ranks, Templeton hosts second place Lompoc on Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm with a piece of the title on the line.

The Eagles are 10-1 in league, while the Braves are one game back at 9-2. The Eagles have already clinched at least a share of the title, but the Braves can share the crown with a win at Templeton.

Templeton edged Lompoc 4-3 earlier this year.

In the PAC 7, San Luis Obispo baseball and Atascadero softball have already wrapped up outright league titles.