El Toro Advances to Classic Title Game

Winning pitcher Susan Churchwell drove in the winning run, helping El Toro, ranked fourth in the county, defeat 10th-ranked Aliso Niguel, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Woodbridge Classic softball tournament Saturday at Harvard Park.

El Toro (11-3) advanced to play Dana Hills in Monday’s final.

Churchwell’s RBI single in the fifth drove in Sondra Milchiker to give the Chargers a 2-0 lead. Churchwell gave up only two hits and no earned runs. Aliso Niguel (8-6) scored in the sixth on a wild pitch.

In the other semifinal game:

Dana Hills 4, Bishop Amat 2--Dana Hills jumped out to a quick lead with a three-run first inning. Loren Thornberg pitched five innings for the her eighth victory and Nicole Pete got the save.

In the quarterfinals:

No. 4 El Toro 1, No. 6 Fountain Valley 0 (8)--Julie Skidmore’s single with two outs in the eighth drove in Megan Smietana from second base. Smietana opened the eighth with a single, the first hit against Fountain Valley pitcher Natalie King, who struck out 16. Through seven innings, King walked only one.

Dana Hills 5, Mission Viejo 0--Nicole Pete (5-0) remained perfect for the season as she threw a shutout, striking out nine.

In the consolation games:

Kennedy 4, No. 3 Pacifica 3--Loraine Geiger, a sophomore recently called up from the junior varsity, had three hits, including a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Fighting Irish (10-6).

Lakewood 4, Irvine 3--Irvine scored three in the first, but lost when they gave up four runs in the fifth. Pitcher Christy Betts went the distance to get the win for Lakewood (3-7).

Trabuco Hills 7, Cypress 2--Sarah Hernandez (4-3), hit a grand slam and pitched seven innings to get the victory for host Trabuco Hills (5-8).

In the Capistrano Valley Christian tournament:

Capistrano Valley Christian 2, Redlands Arrowhead Christian 0--Lauren Capriotti struck out 12 in a three-hit championship final victory for the Eagles (6-3). In pool play at the Anaheim Lions Baseball Tournament:

Katella 10, Canyon Country Canyon 9 (5, time limit)--Jonathan Lorenzen was three for three with a triple and three runs scored for the Knights (11-4), who scored six runs in the bottom of the final inning. Chris Walters provided the game-winning RBI, a single that drove in Carlos Pasillas. Katella plays Western at 7 p.m. Monday.

Kennedy 14, Magnolia 4 (6, mercy)--Brian Peterson, who was brought up from the junior varsity to pitch in the tournament, got his first varsity win. Rob Legro recorded his second save. Jason Perez scored two runs and stole two bases for Kennedy (4-11). Kennedy plays Troy at 7 p.m. Monday at Glover Stadium.

Troy 5, Savanna 4--Troy junior Jeff Northover relieved his older brother, Jim, in the seventh inning. Jim got his third win and Jeff struck out the last two batters to close out the game and pick up the save. The Warriors’ Ben Reneau went two for three with two runs scored and three stolen bases.