SOFTBALL: SPIGNER'S HOME RUN PUTS VALENCIA ALL ALONE IN FIRST VALENCIA 1, HART 0.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News

SANTA CLARITA - With one swing of the bat, Jessica Spigner restored order to the topsy-turvy Foothill League.

With sole possession of first place on the line for Valencia High, the sophomore third baseman hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Vikings a 1-0 victory over visiting Hart of Newhall, putting the defending league champion alone atop the league standings.

Valencia (22-4, 5-1) had dropped into a two-way tie for first after being upset by Saugus on Thursday, and risked falling into a three-way tie with Hart (13-9, 4-3) and Saugus (16-9, 5-2) with another loss.

``We had to win,'' Spigner said. ``If we didn't, we'd all be tied for first, and we didn't want that.''

Spigner drove a 200-plus foot line shot into the teeth of a stiff wind that cleared the fence in left-center field. It came on a 2-2 pitch off Hart freshman standout Destiny Rodino (8-5) after Spigner fell behind 0-2.

``She had to get all of it because the wind was obviously a factor, and she did, she got all of it,'' Valencia coach Donna Lee said.

Spigner said she felt compelled to seize the moment in support of pitcher Jordan Taylor (22-4), who tossed a one-hitter, striking out 19 batters.

``Jordan was pitching really hard and I did it for her and my teammates,'' Spigner said.

Taylor, who hiked her astonishing strikeout total to 338, struck out the side in four innings.

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

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