Tight games, big power, upsets in first round of California high school softball SoCal, NorCal regional playoffs

Brackets, scores, roundup: Many squads travel more than 150 miles to play elimination games in high intensity one-week tournament up and down the 780-mile length of Golden State

Pow for Poway! Senior slugger Sophia Burmeister had 18 homers and 38 RBI heading into a SoCal semifinal Division 1 game on Thursday. / Photo by Rudy Schmoke

First-round California (CIF) Regional softball games got off to somewhat of a wild start, especially down South where unseasonale thunder, lightning and rain storms struck, causing postponements and suspension of games.

Very unusual for the first week of June in the Golden State.

The tournament is one week, started with first-round games on Tuesday followed by semifinals on Thursday and championships on Saturday.

Top seeds in the North are Oak Ridge (Division 1), Vanden (D2), Hillsdale (D3), East Nicolaus (D4), Biggs (D5).

Top seeds in the South are El Modena (D1), Christian (D2), Point Loma (D3), Pioneer Valley (D4), Rancho Mirage (D5).

Defending Northern California champions are Amador Valley (D1), Destiny Christian Academy (D2), Sutter (D3), Alvarez (D4) and Big Valley Christian (D5).

Defending Southern California champions are Murrieta Mesa (D1), Etiwanda (D2), Otay Ranch (D3), Oceanside (D4) and Coastal Academy (D5).

Below are highlights from games that were played. A majority of the details were gathered from MaxPreps team pages.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Division 1

No. 1 Oak Ridge 10, No. 8 Capuchino 0: Brooklyn Paratore had two hits, three RBIs with a double and triple, and Emery Glasser added a double and triple with two RBIs as the Trojans (25-4) rolled. Winning pitcher Ellison Schroeder struck out six and allowed two hits in five innings.

No. 4 Whitney 2, No. 5 Clovis North 1: Whitney (24-9) pushed a run across in the bottom of the eighth on a RBI double from Emma Rabe to make a winner out of freshman Taylor Cordell, who struck out seven and allowed three hits in eight innings. Another freshman, Sydney Kniss had an RBI double for Clovis North (25-4).

No. 3 Saint Francis 3, No. 6 Rocklin 2: Down to their last strike, junior Jaime Oakland fouled off two pitches before delivering an RBI double to tie the game before Peyton Tsao singled her home in a wild comeback win. Maya Yumbia had two hits and an RBI, while pitchers Ava Bulanti and Bianka Fisher combined to give up seven hits and strike out five. Brooke Lomelli and Katie Wetteland had two hits apiece for Rocklin, which finished (22-7). Saint Francis (28-3) was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the nation last year before losing in the first round of NorCals to Amador Valley. The seventh-inning rally secured it wouldn't happen two years in a row.

No. 2 Del Oro 9, No. 7 Willow Glen 4: The host Golden Eagles (29-2) struck for seven runs in the first inning and was never really threatened. Katie Brown and Caelyn Campos each drove in three runs with two hits, including two doubles by Campos. Winning pitcher Mikayla Finn gave up three runs and struck out four. Lea Crawford belted a grand slam for Willow Glen (28-2), which was 28-0 before losing in the Central Coast Section finals to Saint Francis, 9-6, in eight innings.

Division 2

No. 1 Vanden 8, No. 8 Foothill 6: KJ Horton, a freshman, drove in three runs with a double and a single, and Arelyn Chavez, another ninth-grader, had three hits with a double, two singles and two RBI as the host Vikings rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seven to pull out the win. The game featured 25 hits and five errors. Foothill's Alexa Sponsel drove in two runs with a homer and double. The Falcons finished 16-10-1.

No. 4 Liberty-Brentwood 14, No. 5 Central Catholic 3: Isabella Rice, Kylee McKinney and Taylor Jennings all blasted home runs, lifting the host Lions (24-4).

No. 6 King's Academy 5, No. 3 Destiny Christian Academy 4: Two hits and two RBIs each from Katia Nesper and Mia Bennette lifted the visitors from Sunnyvale (22-7) to victory. The Lions finished 23-3.

No. 2 Salinas 5, No. 7 Casa Grande 2: Kelsie Domenighini had a double, two triples and drove in two leading the host Cowboys (19-8) to victory. Winning pitcher Abi Jones struck out seven and allowed four hits while going the distance. Molly Gallagher had two hits for Casa Grande, which finished 22-7-1.

Division 3

No. 5 Liberty-Madera 1, No. 4 Foothill-Palo Cedro 0: An RBI double from Ari Aguayo in the fifth inning was all junior Macie Webster needed as she gave up just three hits and struck out 11 while going the distance. Foothill's Elisea Wiegand was equally effective, giving up just two hits while striking out 13. The Cougars finished 26-6-1.

No. 6 Pleasant Valley 1, No. 3 Carondelet 0: A second-inning run was all winning pitcher Alissa Snipes needed as the senior struck out eight and gave up one hit to carry the Vikings (21-8-1) in the the semifinals. Lily Thurman and Kodi Aisthorpe had doubles for Pleasant Valley. Angela Gates had the sole hit for Carondelet, which finished 15-14.

No. 2 Cardinal Newman 5, No. 7 Calaveras 1: Callie Howard threw a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts and Andrea Mansberry and Izzie Kunimune each had two hits and two RBIs as the host Cardinals rolled.

Division 4

No. 1 East Nicolaus 7, No. 8 Woodside 1: Lela DeCecco had a triple, single and two RBI, Gabby Sotelo drove in two runs and the pitching duo of Stevie Knight and Kylah Glenn combined to struck out 12 and give up just three hits for the host Spartans (22-6). Marisa Calderon had a double for Woodside, which finished 16-12.

No. 4 Northgate-Walnut Creek 11, No. 5 Gridley 2: An eight-run uprising in the second put this one to bed early as Chloe Alfonso, a freshman, blasted a home run and Stella Hanko and Lucky Franco each drove in a pair for the Broncos (14-11).

No. 3 San Leandro 4, No. 6 University Prep 3: The Pirates (22-8) needed nine innings to do in University Prep, which outhit San Leandro 10-7 but made six errors.

No. 7 Aptos 4, No. 2 Argonaut 3: Kailani Aguayo and Gwen Vaca each had three hits, including two doubles from Aguayo as the Mariners (18-8) went on the road — 152-mile drive to Jackson — to knock off the Mustangs. Winning pitcher Mya Najera-White gave up just four hits and struck out seven. Losing pitcher Hailey Dewald struck out eight and got two doubles and an RBI from teammate Bailey Baker. Argonaut finished 24-6.

Division 5

No. 1 Biggs 10, No. 8 Willits 0: Arden Vines, a freshman, wetn 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, lifting the host Wolverines (27-3-1), who got a five-inning no-hitter by Gracie Sheppard, who struck out 11 and walked one.

No. 4 Miramonte 7, No. 5 Oakland 4: Sophomore Gianna Granzella went 4-for-4 with an RBI and freshman Lucy Daoust drove in two with a single as the host Matadors (19-8) rolled to the semifinals. Miramonte scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to wipe out a 4-3 deficit. Winning pitcher Abby Warren allowed six hits and struck out eight while allowing two earned runs.

No. 3 King City 11, No. 6 Torres 1: Raylie Moore drove in three runs with a single and a double and freshman Crystal Paramo drove in a pair with a single as the host Mustangs (19-11) advanced to the semifinals. Winning pitcher Alizah Carrillo allowed just one hit and struck out seven in five innings.

No. 7 Balboa 20, No. 2 Foresthill 3: A remarkable 15-run rally in the fifth lifted the San Francisco Section champions to victory in Placer County. The Bucs (14-4), which made a 138-mile drive for the first-round win, now go 153 miles to King City.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Division 1

No. 5 Poway 4, No. 4 Ayala 1: Mya McGowan fired a six-hitter with four strikeouts and Karissa Knapp doubled in two runs and Alyssa Menges and Sophia Grimm also knocked in runs for the San Diego Section champions (24-8) who picked up the win on the road. Eaelor Walker doubled in the only run for Ayala (22-4)

Division 2

No. 4 Monache 3, No. 5 Long Beach Poly 2: Speaking of long drives, the visiting Jackrabbits traveled 185 miles only to lose to Monache out of Porterville. Poly pushed across a run in the top of the seventh to go up 2-1, before Monache (18-6-1) scored twice in the bottom half to win it. Aalyha Mendoza went 4-for-4 to lead a 14-hit attack for the Marauders, while four players had two hits apiece, led by Devynn Emerson and Shy-Lee Teran, who also scored runs. Winning pitcher Teran struck out six and allow five hits. Kween Tauala and Persjah Lam Sam each had triples for Poly, which finished 20-7.

No. 6 Eastlake 3, No. 3 Bakersfield Christian 2: Eastlake of Chula Vista has everyone beat travel wise, a 240-mile jaunt to Bakersfield, but the Titans (22-11-1) made it a fun trip home scoring twice in the first and once in the sixth to pull out the win. Winning pitcher Addison Suriano allowed five hits and struck out five. Rachel Del Busto drove in three runs with a homer and single. Tian Nichols and Ashlynn Billington drove in runs for Bakersfield Christian, which finished 23-10.

No. 2 Westlake 5, No. 7 Rancho Bernardo 3: Winning pitcher Presley Watters went the distance, allowing four hits, three runs and striking out five. She got a big home run from Olivia Ziebell White and Lily Barrett add two hits including a double for the Warriors (20-14). Nora Schwart swatted a two-run homer for Rancho Bernardo (13-15-1).

Division 3

No. 9 Point Loma 9, No. 8 Port of Los Angeles 2: Leyton MacPherson smacked two home runs and added a single while driving in four runs to carry the Pointers (26-6-1).

No. 4 Olympian 7, No. 5 West Ranch 6: Up comfortably 4-0, the Eagles (20-12-1) watched West Ranch score five unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh, before sending the game into extra innings. Then in the ninth, West Ranch pushed across a run before the Eagles struck for the final two tallies. Jacqui De Murguia went 4-for-4 with two RBI for the winners from Chula Vista.

No. 3 St. Bonaventure 6, No. 6 Southwest EC 5: Audrina Tinoco had two doubles and two RBI, leading a 12-hit attack and St. Bonaventure's victory. The host Seraphs (19-11) also two hits each from Janessa Brown, Hailie Barlow and Azaria Aguilar.

No. 2 Legacy 5, No. 7 Elsinore 4: Isabella Medina doubled twice and knocked in a run while Natalie Gonzalez also doubled in a run as the host Tigers (25-7) pulled out a terrific first-round game. Medina was alos the winning pitcher with 14 strikeouts while scattering nine hits.

Division 4

Scores: No. 4 Rio Hondo Prep 9, No. 5 Taft 3; No. 3 University 5, No. 6 Marquez 3

Division 5

Scores: No. 1 Rancho Mirage 9, No. 8 Lincoln 8; No. 4 Culver City, No. 5 Westchester 7; No. 6 Hueneme 9, No. 3 North Holywood 4; No. 2 Orcutt Academy 17, No. 7 Cathedral City 0.

Here are the brackets for the NorCal and SoCal regionals:

NORCAL

• DIVISION I
• DIVISION II
• DIVISION III
• DIVISION IV
• DIVISION V

SOCAL

• DIVISION I
• DIVISON II
• DIVISION III
• DIVISION IV
• DIVISION V

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