Sheldon rises to 'monster' occasion

You can tell a lot about an event by the company it keeps. In the case of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I softball championship, it drew a boisterous crowd of an estimated 1,000 for the monster matchup between defending champion Sheldon High School and perennial power Elk Grove.

And after all the power pitches, huge defensive plays and key hits, Sheldon came away with two 1-0 victories and claimed their second consecutive section title and third overall from the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

"This is really special," said Sheldon coach Mary Jo Truesdale, who stands at 500 career victories. "I was thinking maybe it wouldn't happen this year. But I guess it was meant to be."

Sheldon entered the week ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today. But the Huskies saw their mythical national title hopes vanish Tuesday, losing to Elk Grove 4-3 in a winner's bracket game and falling in the national poll to fourth Thursday.

As a result, the Huskies (32-2) played with less pressure, but determined. None better than Jolene Henderson, the Huskies' ace pitcher and The Bee's 2007 All-Metro Player of the Year.

Last season, she belted a three-run walk-off homer off Thundering Herd pitcher Allie Crump in the ninth inning and Sheldon won section title 3-0.

This time, she dominated on the mound. She struck out eight and pitched her second no-hitter in three games in the Huskies' Game 1 victory.

In the second game, she pitched a five-hitter, struck out 10, and got Janelle Wisdom to ground out to shortstop with runners on second and third and two outs in the sixth. It was Elk Grove's (27-4) best scoring opportunity of the game.

"Just look at the stands," Henderson said. "It was a lot of people here. So it made me want to be at my best. Plus, I was angry about the loss two days ago. I didn't get the job done then (allowing seven hits). But I came through this time."

So did Alexa Rivera, who produced the game-winning RBI for the Huskies in the second game with a fifth-inning double to left field off Crump, who gave up two runs on five hits in both games.

The Herd's Charlie Cisneros tried to make a diving catch, but the ball popped out of her glove and Cheyenne Cathey scored from third. "Just an incredible effort by Charlie," Herd coach Jeff Alexander said. "She had it in her glove. But when she hit the ground the ball came out."

Division II

Oak Ridge 3, Woodcreek 0 – Taylor Smith and Gabby Goyette laced RBI singles and freshman pitcher Kasey Stancheck collected 10 strikeouts, pacing the Trojans to their second consecutive D-II section title and sixth overall.

Division III

Woodland 7, Pioneer 1 – Senior pitcher Alyssa Nakken struck out nine and had an RBI double, and Holly Bourke slapped a three-run double, leading the Wolves to their first D-III section title.

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