Southern California Softball Regional finals
When: Saturday
ission: $12 adults, $8 students and seniors. Tickets are available only at gofan.co./CIF.
Division 1: (3) Del Norte (25-6) at (2) Murrieta Mesa (27-4), 4 p.m.
Preview: Del Norte sustained a gut-wrenching 6-5 loss in the Open Division section championship game, with Poway scoring six times in the seventh inning. The Nighthawks responded with two wins this week, including a 4-3 walk-off win in the ninth inning in the semifinals. Princeton-bound Jessica Phelps (14-1, 1.44 ERA) is the ace. Phelps (.389, 4 HR, 21 RBI), Fresno State-bound Lex Brunetti (.389-6-25), Julia Montemayor (.294-5-20), Lainey Llamas (.344-5-19, 31 runs) and Alexis Kyles (.392, 26 runs) lead the offense. … Murrieta Mesa sophomore Lilly Ha (21-1, 0.46) has 192 strikeouts in 108 innings with an opponents’ batting average of .103. Taelyn Holley (.598-11-32) leads the state with 59 runs scored. Ha (.500-8-35), Victoria Prado (.459-11-44), Madi Lardizabal (.333-9-29) and Madi Clark (.407-2-29) also help to outscore foes, 290-86.
Division 2: (3) Etiwanda (30-5) at (1) Mater Dei Catholic (29-5), 2 p.m.
Preview: Mater Dei was 26-3 before losing twice to Del Norte in the Open Division section playoffs. The young Crusaders roared through the SoCal playoffs with 9-2 and 12-2 wins. In his 25th season, coach Mike Centrulla can pitch freshman Arri Romero (12-3, 1.33 ERA) or junior Peanut Garcia (14-2, 1.56). Sophomores Gigi Flores (.410-3-37) and Bella Harris (.349-2-24, 39 runs), seniors Michaella Salvatierra (.475-1-11, 34 runs) and Michelle Cervantes (.310-0-22) and freshmen Chuck Masingale (.321-4-16) and Romero (.448-1-16) provide plenty of offense. … Etiwanda won the Southern Section Division 3 championship with a 3-1 win over Riverside King. Mater Dei routed King 12-2 on Thursday. The Eagles’ potent offense is led by Alyssa Galindo (.517-11-34) and Taylor Wren (.462-2-35). Galindo (7-2, 0.96) and Cameryn Ortega (10-0, 2.12) combined for 172 strikeouts in 136 innings.
Division 3: (3) Imperial (29-3-1) at (1) Otay Ranch (19-12), 2 p.m.
Preview: Playing one of the toughest schedules in the county, Otay Ranch began 2-8 and was 13-12 before reeling off six straight playoff wins — including a 4-3 victory over Steele Canyon in the section Division 1 championship. Victoria Resendez (3.00 ERA) and Kaylin Phillips (2.41) normally split duty in the circle. Nataly Lozano (.366-5-30, 24 runs), Phillips (.342-5-19, 24 runs), Ariele Torres (.337-1-21), Viviana Vargas (.343-1-18) and Itzel Soto (.298-1-18, 23 runs) produce runs. … Imperial lost its opener to El Capitan (8-1) in February, fell to Del Norte (11-1) in March and lost to Holtville (3-2 in 9 innings) in April. Streaks of 5-0, 14-0-1 and 10-0 put the Tigers in Saturday’s final. They beat Eastlake (11-2) to win the section Division 2 title and then knocked off No. 2 Steele Canyon (8-4 in 8 innnings) on Thursday. Junior Jayden Rutledge (1.29 ERA) is the ace and leading batter (.449-2-38, 12 steals) along with freshman Addison Clark (.406-0-19, 39 runs, 15 steals) and junior Hannah Johnson (.392-0-27, 31 runs).
Division 4: (2) Oceanside (24-6-1) at (1) L.A. Garfield (21-5), 1:45 p.m.
Preview: Oceanside has won 14 of 15 games, including a 4-3 victory over Sage Creek for the section Division 3 championship and a 10-0 rout of Eastside in the SoCal semis. Lia Nance (.469-1-16) sets the table with 58 runs and 41 stolen bases. Taylor Armstrong (.510-7-40, 37 runs, 13 steals), Nalia Nuanez (.474-0-35, 41 runs, 11 steals), freshman Seaven Fuimaono (.398-1-29, 36 runs, 12 steals) and Meliah Poumele-Flores (.472-7-28, 21 runs) provide the pop for a team that carires a 283-94 scoring edge into the final. Nayeli Adame (10-2, 1.98) and Izabella Gobea (12-3, 3.07) are the pitchers. … Garfield won the L.A. City Section championship by outscoring four foes, 44-5. A current 10-game winning streak carries a 109-14 scoring margin. Sluggers Coco Priebe, Bella Garcia and Frankie Andujo helped provide the Bulldogs with an overall 229-60 scoring advantage.
Division 5: (3) Coastal Academy (18-16) at (1) Chatsworth (15-13-1), 4 p.m.
Preview: Coastal Academy, which finished sixth in the seven-team Coastal League, was seeded No. 10 when the Stingrays upset No. 1 Santa Fe Christian 2-1 in 8 innings for the section Division 4 championship. In a 3-1 upset of No. 2 Hesperia in the SoCal semis, Sophia Tillis (1.49, 183 Ks) pitched a 3-hitter and went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI to give the Stingrays their 7th straight win. Cayla Contreras (.455-2-19, 42 runs, 14 SBs), Ava Alvarez (.388-6-35, 30 runs) and Delyiah Ordman (.438, 27 runs, 14 SBs) lead the offense. … Chatsworth was outscored 188-141 but has won 6 in a row, including the L.A. City Division 2 championship. Lila Mashhoud (.488-3-30, 20 runs), Sophia Castro (.429-1-24), Brianna Fierro (.397, 28 runs) and Emily Hernandez (.261, 24 runs) lead the Chancellors.
