CIF high school softball: Del Oro wins thriller, DCA rolls, unbeaten Ponderosa falls
The high school softball is so good and robust in Placer County that the top seeds in the large-school CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I and Division II brackets included rivals located within a relay throw from each other.
The No. 2-seeded Del Oro Golden Eagles rallied to top No. 3 Rocklin, 4-2, in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal in Loomis in a thriller of longtime Sierra Foothill League rivals on Tuesday afternoon, and nearby Whitney prevailed in a Division I semifinal with a rout of Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills.
For Del Oro, Emma Johnson smacked a two-out, two-run home run in the fifth inning to tie it 2-2, and Chloe Champas had a two-run single in the sixth inning to account for the final score as the Golden Eagles returned to a section final while improving to 20-7 with their third win over Rocklin this season.
Mikayla Finn allowed three hits and two earned runs and struck out four in four innings for Del Oro, and Katharine Popovski earned the win with her three innings of work in which she allowed no runs and no walks.
Renee Dragseth had two RBI for Rocklin.
All section finalists in Divisions I, II and III advance to the CIF Northern California Tournament.
Division I
Whitney 8, Oak Ridge 1 — The top-seeded Wildcats of Rocklin advance to a fourth consecutive section final after belting out 15 hits and receiving an RBI each from Rebecca Rau, Bri Seffens, Kaitlyn Johnson, Lulu Im, Brooklyn Steele, Paige Tamblyn and Larissa Rogowski.
Taylor Cordell pitched a complete-game four-hitter with one walk and three strikeouts for Whitney to stymie the Trojans, a Whitney rival in the SFL. Rau, Seffens, Johnson, Steele and Jayla Bradford each had two hits for Whitney, which has won eight consecutive games and is 23-8.
Division II
Elk Grove 12, Tracy 10 — The No. 6-seeded Thundering Herd rallied to beat the top-seeded Bulldogs by scoring three runs in the seventh inning and three in the ninth to set up a showdown with Del Oro.
Madelyn Benzler’s triple to center scored Tamiayh for a 10-9 lead in the ninth for Elk Grove, and Brooklyn Landrum doubled to score Ryann Wolfe to make it 12-9 as the Thundering Herd improved to 27-4 with the team’s 11th consecutive victory.
Benzler had two RBIs and gutted out a complete-game victory as the pitcher, allowing five earned runs, walking five and striking out four. Wolfe, Elk Grove’s Pacific-bound catcher, had three RBIs and Landrum had two. Taylor Munos drove in two runs for Tracy (24-2).
Division III
Destiny Christian Academy 10, Dixon 0 — Aubrey Joiner, Takiyah Haygood and Roxy Sardo homered and combined for seven RBIs, and Ayla Tuua allowed two hits, walked none and struck out eight in four innings of pitching dominance as The Sacramento Bee’s top-ranked team and the No. 2 team in the state by CalHi Sports moved to 27-0.
The Lions beat the Rams of Solano County in a five-inning, mercy-rule shortened game. DCA has won its playoff games over Bear Creek of Stockton, Vista del Lago of Folsom and Dixon by a combined score of 38-1.
Ella Dossey drove in three runs and KK Fulmer one for DCA.
Vanden 4, Ponderosa 3 — The Vikings of Solano County rallied from 3-0 down to score all of their runs in the top of the seventh and final inning to stun the No. 2-seeded and previously unbeaten Bruins of Shingle Springs.
Niavji Calvo’s two-run homer cut Ponderosa’s lead to 3-2, KJ Horton’s blast tied it at 3-3, and DJ Evans homered to centerfield for the game winner for Vanden as the state’s No. 3-ranked team dipped to 27-1.
Lauren Klomp was cruising in the pitching circle for Ponderosa, striking out 14, before tiring, and Vanden pounced in moving to 17-5 on the season. Kendyll Childers pitched a complete-game 5-hitter for Vanden, allowing no earned runs and striking out four.
CIF Sac-Joaquin Section softball
All section championship games are Saturday. Championships for Divisions I, II and III will be played at Sacramento State; for Divisions IV and V at Cosumnes River College; and Divisions VI and VII at Delta College in Stockton.
Division I
Semifinals
Whitney 8, Oak Ridge 1
Rodriguez 3, Davis 2
Saturday’s championship
No. 1 Whitney vs. No. 7 Rodriguez, 4 p.m.
Division II
Semifinals
Del Oro 4, Rocklin 2
Elk Grove 12, Tracy 10
Saturday’s championship
No. 2 Del Oro vs. No. 6 Elk Grove, 1 p.m.
Division III
Semifinals
Destiny Christian 10, Dixon 0
Vanden 4, Ponderosa 3
Saturday’s championship
No. 1 Destiny Christian vs. No. 3 Vanden, 10 a.m.
Division IV
Semifinals
Central Catholic 16, Oakdale 9
Wood 8, Pioneer 5
Saturday’s championship
No. 2 Central Catholic vs. No. 5 Wood, 1 p.m.
Division V
Semifinals
Casa Roble 4, Orestimba 1
Escalon 7, Sutter 6
Saturday’s championship
No. 5 Casa Roble vs. No. 7 Escalon, 10 a.m.
Division VI
Semifinals
Amador 7, Hilmar 3
Argonaut 9, Linden 6
Saturday’s championship
No. 1 Amador vs. No. 2 Argonaut, 1 p.m.
Division VII
Semifinals
Le Grand 15, Leroy Greene 0
Elliot Christian 13, Golden Sierra 1
Saturday’s championship
No. 1 Le Grand vs. No. 2 Elliot Christian, 10 a.m.