SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : Simi Valley’s Long Shot Downs Mater Dei, 2-0

Call it a big hit.

Call it a huge error.

No matter what the official ruling, Simi Valley scored two runs on Kathy Beasley’s shot to the gap in left-center field to earn a 2-0 victory over top-seeded Mater Dei in a Southern Section Division 5-A softball playoff semifinal at Santa Susana Park.

Simi Valley (26-2) will make its first appearance in the 5-A championship game at Mayfair Park in Lakewood on Saturday against Cypress, a 1-0 winner over Kennedy in the other semifinal. Mater Dei finished 19-2-1.

The victory was a good dose of revenge for the Pioneers, who were eliminated from the playoffs by Mater Dei in each of the past two seasons.

The Pioneers managed just two hits off Mater Dei’s Terri Kobata, who struck out 12 and faced just 21 batters in six innings.

But Simi Valley handed Kobata (11-1) her first and final loss of the season by taking advantage of a fielding mishap in the fourth.

With pinch-runner Jenny Conmay at second and two outs, Beasley ripped a 1-2 pitch to left-center field. Left fielder Bernadette Vargas and center fielder Patty Godwin both converged on Beasley’s lofty fly ball. As soon as Vargas made what looked like an over-the-shoulder grab, Godwin plowed into her, and the ball shot out of Vargas’ glove.

Both Conmay and Beasley scored easily as Godwin jumped to her feet and chased down the ball. Vargas was motionless on the ground for several minutes but returned to her position after a slight delay.

“It’s Kathy’s favorite place to hit--in the gap in left,” Simi Valley Coach Suzanne Manlet said. “We felt it was a clean home run because even though she got her glove on it, she went back on it.”

Truthfully, Manlet doesn’t care what it was ruled. She’s ruling it the play that advanced Simi Valley to the finals.