A New Day at the Top

Balance among high school softball teams in the Southland is evident in this year’s Southern Section championship matchups, which feature only two teams with shots at repeating as division champions.

Defending champion Garden Grove Pacifica, led by pitcher Amanda Freed, will take on Glendora St. Lucy’s for the second year in a row in the Division III final. Santa Ana Calvary Chapel will try to win back-to-back titles when it plays Orange Lutheran.

Pacifica is one of three top-seeded teams that advanced to a final. Mater Dei in Division I and Camarillo Cornerstone Christian in Division VI are the others.

All six championship games will be played at Mayfair Park in Lakewood on Friday and Saturday.

Here is a look at the championship games:

DIVISION I

* Santa Ana Mater Dei (28-3) vs. Chino Hills Ayala (25-4), Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Mater Dei, which won its only title in 1996, is in the final for the third time in four years.

The Monarchs are led by pitchers Marissa Young, who is 13-2, and Tia Bollinger (16-1). Kelsey Kollen, batting .509, drove in the winning run in Mater Dei’s 2-1 semifinal victory over Camarillo.

Ayala advanced through its bracket with victories over Downey Warren, Diamond Bar, Santa Ana Foothill and Irvine. Merrideth Miles scored the winning run for the Bulldogs in their 2-1 semifinal victory over Irvine.

DIVISION II

* Cerritos (19-5) vs. Quartz Hill (23-3-2), Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Cerritos is seeking its first title in its second appearance in the final. The Dons lost to Corona Centennial in the 1996 Division IV championship game.

Cerritos advanced to this year’s final by knocking off defending champion Irvine Woodbridge, 2-1, in the semifinals. The victory avenged last year’s semifinal defeat against the Warriors.

Sara Winters and Julie Hoshazaki had run-scoring singles for the Dons. Jaime O’Neal improved her record to 15-2. Quartz Hill advanced to its first final in seven years with a 3-2 victory over Jurupa Valley. Jodie Cox is 21-3 for the Rebels. Sara Moore is seven for 15 in the playoffs.

DIVISION III

* Garden Grove Pacifica (28-3) vs. Glendora St. Lucy’s (25-6), Saturday at 1 p.m.

This is a rematch of last year’s final, which Pacifica won, 3-0. On Tuesday, Freed pitched her 10th no-hitter, and her third in a row, as Pacifica beat Paso Robles, 8-0, to advance to the championship game.

St. Lucy’s, which won its only title in 1994, got to the championship game by defeating Ridgecrest Burroughs, Phelan Serrano, Palm Desert and Hacienda Heights Wilson.

DIVISION IV

* Corona Santiago (28-3) vs. Fullerton Rosary (26-6), Friday at 5 p.m.

Santiago, in its second year of existence, earned its first berth in a championship game with a 14-2 victory over Harvard Westlake.

The Sharks, the champions of the Sunkist League, are led by pitcher Angie Melendrez (25-3), the only senior on Santiago’s roster.

Pitcher Christy Ledford is 15-5 and Samantha Jennings is batting .485 for Rosary.

DIVISION V

* Orange Lutheran (20-9) vs. Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (22-4), Saturday at 10 a.m.

Orange Lutheran pitcher Jessica Edwards is 15-5 and has two perfect games among her four no-hitters this season. She pitched the Lancers to a 1-0 semifinal victory over Lancaster Paraclete. Junior catcher Amanda Hallaway is batting .481 with 33 runs batted in for Calvary Chapel, which defeated Santa Maria St. Joseph, 2-0, in the semifinals.

DIVISION VI

* Camarillo Cornerstone Christian (21-3) vs. Lone Pine (19-6), Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Cornerstone Christian is led by senior third baseman Karri Becker, who hit a home run in the Eagles’ 6-2 semifinal victory over Southern California Christian.

Second-seeded Lone Pine had a first-round bye, then beat Maricopa, Santa Maria Valley Christian and Riverside Christian to reach the final.

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Staff writer Paige A. Leech and correspondent Dave Desmond contributed to this story.