Playing for Keeps Is Name of Game

Garden Grove Pacifica and Santa Ana Calvary Chapel each will attempt to win its third consecutive title and Santa Ana Mater Dei and Camarillo Cornerstone Christian will try to repeat as champions when Southern Section softball finals in six divisions are played Friday and Saturday at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

A look at the championship games:

* DIVISION I: SANTA ANA MATER DEI (28-4) vs. MORENO VALLEY VALLEY VIEW (28-2), Saturday, 7:30 p.m.--Mater Dei is trying to win its third title in four years. The Monarchs are led by Marissa Young (15-2), who has pitched four shutouts in the playoffs and is batting .400 with 20 runs batted in.

Valley View is making its first appearance in the final. Junior Keira Goerl (22-1) pitched a perfect game against second-seeded Foothill in the quarterfinals, then struck out 10 and beat Fountain Valley, 2-0, in the semifinals.

* DIVISION II: MORENO VALLEY (23-8) vs. CERRITOS (25-7), Saturday, 1 p.m.--Cerritos, in the final for the second year in a row, is led by junior left-hander Jessica van der Linden (18-5) and outfielder Brandi Stuart, each of whom is batting .320.

Moreno Valley’s Wendy Allen (12-0) struck out 12 in the Vikings’ 7-2 semifinal victory over Irvine Woodbridge.

* DIVISION III: GARDEN GROVE PACIFICA (23-8) vs. BREA OLINDA (22-7-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.--Senior Jessica Soto (20-7) is not as overpowering as former Mariner Amanda Freed, but she has been the key for top-seeded Pacifica.

Catcher Toria Auelua is batting .487 with four homers for the Mariners.

Brea Olinda’s Tiffany Whitton (11-4) pitched a one-hitter against La Puente Bishop Amat in the semifinals. She is batting .521 with nine homers.

* DIVISION IV: WEST HILLS CHAMINADE (24-6-1) vs. BLOOMINGTON (17-9), Friday, 5 p.m.--Senior Maureen LeCocq, who will attend Stanford, has pitched 13 consecutive shutouts and beat Rosary, 1-0, in the semifinals to lead the Eagles to their first appearance in a final.

Bloomington, which finished third in the Sunkist League, is led by shortstop Tatiana George and pitcher Brandi Thompson, who pitched a four-hitter in the Bruins’ 1-0 semifinal victory over Burroughs.

* DIVISION V: SANTA ANA CALVARY CHAPEL (15-6) vs. POMONA CATHOLIC (18-9), Saturday, 10 a.m.--Calvary Chapel was not a seeded team for the playoffs, but the Eagles have shown why they are the two-time defending champions.

Amanda Hallaway is batting .476, Kori Przgocki .474 and Anna Jones .449. Pitcher Sarah Hughes is 7-3.

Pomona Catholic’s Katie Swertfager (13-5) pitched a one-hitter to beat second-seeded Orange Lutheran, 1-0, in eight innings in the semifinals.

Kim Ayala had the game-winning RBI for Pomona Catholic.

* DIVISION VI: BORON (24-0) vs. CAMARILLO CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN (22-6), Saturday, 4:30 p.m.--Cornerstone Christian is the defending division champion, but the Eagles will have a difficult time with Boron, the only unbeaten team in the Southern Section.

Boron pitcher Jennifer Jenkins is looking to help the Bobcats win their first title.

Staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this story.