Color Redlin Near Perfect

For the senior pitcher, whose career was interrupted by pregnancy, it was the mother of all victories.

For the longtime coach, it was the most satisfying of his many City Section championships.

And for El Camino Real High, it was a joyful return trip to the summit of prep softball.

Right-hander Ashley Redlin pitched a nearly flawless game, allowing one hit and one walk, to lead the top-seeded Conquistadores to a 3-0 victory over No. 2 Carson on Tuesday in the City Championship final at UCLA’s Easton Stadium.

“Ashley is incredible,” shortstop Cara Blumfield said of Redlin, who struck out seven and faced one batter over the minimum against a Carson team that was batting .360. “She pitched the game of her life.”

She didn’t hit bad, either.

Redlin (17-3) was two for three, drove in a run, scored another and stole two bases.

It was sweet redemption for Redlin, who lost to San Pedro, 5-0, last year in the final, just a few weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Maddisyn.

“I reached the top,” Redlin said after improving to 2-1 in section championships. She defeated Kennedy in 1997.

“I’m so proud that I could show everybody that it could be done, that I could come back and pitch again.”

Redlin allowed one run in 32 playoff innings.

El Camino Real (24-3), which committed six of its 12 errors last season in the final against San Pedro, has been on the defensive ever since.

They finished 19-0 against City opponents, outscoring them, 138-1.

Against Carson (24-8), the Conquistadores played perfect in the field, with Blumfield turning in three flashy plays and second baseman Jacqui Goodchild and third baseman Vanessa LaGuire calmly handling smashes off Colt bats.

Goodchild had two infield hits.

“We’ve never had a better defensive team,” said Coach Neils Ludlow, who is 288-52 in a 15-year career that includes 10 City titles, six in the 1990s. “It’s been a really great, fun, satisfying year.”

El Camino Real, which has won 12 City titles, scored twice in the first inning to take charge.

Sophomore catcher Christina Enea drove in Kristi Nicklaus with a double off the wall in left-center field, then scored on Redlin’s single to center.

In the sixth, Redlin singled and scored on a single by Lily Landers.

Carson advanced to its first section final with a lineup that included only three seniors.

Coach Rosie Martinez challenged her team by posting a picture of Easton Stadium in the dugout throughout the season. The Colts met the challenge by outscoring its first three playoff opponents, 27-2.