California high school softball roundup: No. 14 Pacifica (Garden Grove), No. 19 Central knock off state's No. 1 and 2
There's going to be a new No. 1 team in California next week.
On Tuesday, the two top-ranked teams in the state – Los Alamitos and Clovis North, rank-able in either order – both went down. And for one of those teams, the loss was season-ending.
Catch up on the action from Monday and Tuesday below.
CIF SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS:
NO. 14 PACIFICA (GARDEN GROVE) UPSETS NO. 1 LOS ALAMITOS
Welcome to the CIF-SS D1 softball playoffs, where every year, some of the top teams in the country get knocked out before the semifinals and fail to earn a regional birth. The bracket is just that good.
This year, three of the top seven teams in the state went down in the quarterfinals, including No. 1 Los Alamitos. That was where Pacifica got ousted the last two seasons, but the Mariners rallied for all five of their runs with two outs in the sixth inning to take down Los Al 5-1. Per the OC Register, Brynne Nally threw a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts against one of the deepest lineups in the state.
For Los Alamitos, this is a devastating ending to a tremendous season, but the Griffins still have Sunset Surf League and Michelle Carew Classic titles to hold on to.
DIVISION 1 – NO. 8 MURRIETA MESA OUTDUELS NO. 4 HUNTINGTON BEACH IN BARN BURNER
Offensive duel of the year?
Murrieta Mesa was down 10-5 in the sixth inning on the road at Huntington Beach before exploding for seven runs. It needed all seven of them as it went on to win 12-11. Taelyn Holley hit through the cycle and scored three runs for the Rams. They now head to Norco on Thursday where they look to knock off the top seeded-team in the section, which is coming off an 8-1 win over Riverside Poly.
DIVISION 1 – NO. 5 OAKS CHRISTIAN MAKES STATEMENT AGAINST NO. 7 ORANGE LUTHERAN
After sweeping the Trinity League race and beating reigning D1 section champion Roosevelt (Eastvale) by a whopping 10-0, Orange Lutheran came into the quarterfinals on a momentous 13-game tear. Their next task? To dethrone the reigning D1 regional champion, Oaks Christian.
But the Lions weren't phased. Oaks Christian's 2024 stars took over as they silenced the Lancers by a score of 7-2. Emelia Davis threw a two-hitter, and Rylee McCoy and Ilove'a Brittingham both homered for Oaks.
The Lions move to 28-1-1 and return to the semifinals, which was where they suffered their only loss of the season, 4-0 against Los Alamitos. It marks another Division 1 regional birth for a squad that entered the season vastly underrated after graduating state player of the year Micaela Kastor (Notre Dame).
DIVISION 2 – CALIFORNIA (WHITTIER) UPSETS NO. 13 MARINA
Don't let the bloodbath known as Division 1 distract you from the fact that CIF-SS Division 2 is also an elite bracket at the top. Two of the four state-ranked teams in D2 got knocked out before even reaching the quarterfinals.
One of them is Marina, which entered the month of April 16-1 with wins over some of the best teams in the state and was ranked inside the top ten for a decent chunk of the season. The Vikings fell 5-2 to California of Whittier, which entered as the clear underdog but did possess wins against the likes of Kennedy (La Palma), La Serna, and Esperanza. The Condors were led by underclassmen, as sophomore Pricilla Ramirez tossed a complete game surrendering one earned run and freshman Hailey Chavolla hit a three-run blast.
In another Division 2 upset, Grand Terrace stifled No. 22 Valley View 3-0. No. 17 Moorpark advanced in D2 with a 5-0 victory against Saugus.
DIVISION 2 – WHITTIER CHRISTIAN KNOCKS OFF RIO MESA
You can't call it too much of an upset, because Whittier Christian entered the game on a 19-game winning streak and 22-4 overall. But nonetheless, Rio Mesa marks the third team in the statewide rankings (on the bubble) to go down in the first two rounds of the CIF-SS D2 playoffs. Riley Laygo threw a complete game shutout for the Heralds in their 2-1 victory, and Aleena Garcia hit two doubles and scored both times.
DIVISION 2 – HURTADO THROWS SECOND STRAIGHT NO-HITTER FOR JSERRA
Looking for a dark horse pick in Division 2? How about JSerra, one of the most battle-tested teams in the section, led by a pitcher coming off back-to-back no-nos. Ace Eva Hurtado hasn't allowed a hit through two playoff games, an 8-0 win over Warren and now a 7-1 victory against Canyon (Anaheim).
DIVISION 3 – NO. 16 CYPRESS TRUDGING THROUGH TOUGH ROAD
There's really no sleep for the weary – although the Centurions don't appear weary at all. Cypress, the top-ranked team in Division 3, had to hold off the second-ranked team in D3, Aquinas, just to make the quarterfinals, winning 2-0.
Now Cypress will again face arguably the toughest remaining team in the division, Capistrano Valley, looking to clinch a semifinals birth and regional playoff appearance.
AROUND THE STATE:
NO. 19 CENTRAL (FRESNO) BEATS NO. 2 CLOVIS NORTH IN THRILLER
A new top dog in the TRAC?
Nope. Clovis North has that title well secured.
But the Broncos did suffer their first loss of the season despite pitching a no-hitter, as they fell 2-1 to Central. Sophomore Kaia Galaviz was dominant in six innings for the Grizzlies, allowing one run, no earned runs, and three hits to 14 strikeouts in the win. With the win, Central will finish no lower than tied for second place in the league.
The Grizzlies wrap up the regular season on Friday against Clovis East, against which they lost 2-0 two weeks ago. With a Central win and/or a Clovis loss – as the Cougars just fell to Clovis East themselves on Tuesday – Central finishes with an undisputed silver medal.
SAN RAMON VALLEY AND AMADOR VALLEY TO MEET FOR EBAL TITLE
With a 4-3 win against No. 18 Granada, San Ramon Valley has punched its ticket to the EBAL championship.
After beating the top-ranked team in the conference – which had previously defeated them 3-0 – it seems on paper that the Wolves have to be the favorite in the title game. But Amador Valley, which took care of California (San Ramon) 6-0, might actually have a better case as the favorite on Thursday. After starting 3-8, Amador Valley has won eight games in a row and 12 of its last 14, including a 4-3 win against SRV a month ago in a wild 11-inning thriller. Let's hope Thursday brings another instant classic.
NO. 10 EAST NICOLAUS ONE GAME AWAY FROM COMPLETING UNBEATEN SEASON
With an 11-1 win against Marysville, the Spartans moved to 26-0-1, one game away from completing an unbeaten season.
And how about this – star pitcher Meika Lauppe is now one scoreless outing away from going a whole regular season without allowing an earned run. In 23 appearances, the senior is 19-0 with only seven runs allowed in 91 innings, none of them earned. She also has registered 155 strikeouts to just 9 walks.
However, arguably the toughest test yet awaits Lauppe and co. before the Northern Section playoffs begin – Sutter, which comes in at 22-1.
NO. 20 PLEASANT GROVE CLINCHES UNDISPUTED DELTA LEAGUE TITLE
One of the best under-the-radar stories in NorCal softball this season? Pleasant Grove has emerged as one of the best teams out there, and just won the brutally competitive Delta League for the first time in ten years.
The Eagles had already clinched at least a co-championship heading into the week with Franklin (Elk Grove) two games behind in the standings. On Monday, Franklin fell 12-0 to St. Francis (Sacramento) and Pleasant Grove routed Davis 14-1. That solidified the undisputed title, and don't forget – there are only four seniors on the roster.
