Mater Dei, Foothill Clash Tonight in Duel for No. 1

There’s a little more buzz than usual this year.

The showdown tonight between Mater Dei and Foothill isn’t just for a Southern Section Division I softball championship, it’s for the No. 1 ranking in a state that is a hotbed for the sport.

Mater Dei is ranked No. 1 by Cal-Hi Sports, and Foothill No. 2. In the Orange County sportswriters poll, it’s the other way around.

“Since the beginning of the year, everyone has been talking about it,” said Mater Dei pitcher Tia Bollinger, who, as a sophomore, defeated Chino Hills Ayala in the 1998 Division I title game. “I think the public, in general, is more hyped up about it than the teams. We expected to be here, we worked hard to be here, and we didn’t care who we played. It’s Foothill, and that will make it a better game.”

Bollinger’s sentiments are echoed by Foothill junior first baseman Kristen Mann, who could end the game with one swing--if she can catch up to one of Bollinger’s pitches.

“I personally don’t care who we play,” Mann said. “We really don’t focus on who we play, we focus on us. I’ve been waiting for this game all season. I think everybody else has been too. The 34 games we’ve played have been leading up to one game. That’s all we wanted to do, get to the CIF finals, and we’re here, and we’re seven innings away from that blue banner going up on our fence.”

Actually, Mann concedes it could take more than seven innings before a champion is crowned tonight at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

Foothill, a Division III school by size, has been to the section championship game five times in the last 10 years, last winning in 1992. Mater Dei, a parochial school that could be playing in Division II, has been to the Division I finals five of the last six years and is trying to win its third title.

Bollinger, a senior with a 30-1 record and a 0.03 earned-run average, is 8-0 in playoff games in her career. She has allowed only five runs this season--one earned--in 222 1/3 innings.

She faces Courtney Fossatti (23-1, 0.04), a junior who allowed only five runs, one earned, in 159 innings.

Top-seeded Mater Dei (31-1) lost its only game to Rosary because Bollinger--who could never remember hitting two batters in the same game--hit two batters in the same inning, threw a wild pitch and was victimized by a passed ball.

Third-seeded Foothill (32-2) lost twice to the same pitcher, Texas-bound Natalie King of Fountain Valley, a team the Knights beat in the section quarterfinals.

Mater Dei has committed only 28 errors this season. Foothill has committed only 27, including three in its last game.

Seven Mater Dei players are starting their second consecutive final. The only Foothill player with championship-game experience is senior left fielder Amber Dragomir, who was a designated hitter as a freshman.

The keys to victory for both teams are pretty simple. In an environment with so little margin for error, neither can make a mistake defensively.

Mater Dei can’t afford to strand runners, which it is prone to do. Because of that, Coach Ed Ulloa said senior center fielder Courtney Betley, who is batting .190, and catcher Jessica Gonzalez, batting .323, must be on their game. Betley has two game-winning RBIs in the playoffs, in wins over Diamond Bar and Long Beach Millikan.

Foothill can’t afford to strike out. One of the quickest teams in county history, the Knights must use their speed to create scoring opportunities against Bollinger, who has 380 strikeouts and has two perfect games among her four playoff victories.

“An administrator asked me if this was the best team we’ve had,” Foothill Coach Joe Gonzalez said this week. “Since this team never had a chance to play the other teams, it’s difficult to say.

“Same with conjecture about who’s better between Mater Dei or Foothill. Unless you play, you’ll never know.”

Tonight, they get an answer.

*

In other championship games:

Division III--Cerritos vs. Corona: Defending champion Cerritos (30-2) handed Corona all three of its losses this season. Cerritos is led by Florida State-bound left-hander Jessica van der Linden. Van der Linden (24-2) struck out 15 and Nichole Maddox hit a two-run home run in the Dons’ 2-1 semifinal victory over Thousand Oaks. Corona pitcher Kristi DeVries (29-2) has given up two earned runs in 228 innings. Corona (29-3) advanced to the final with a 1-0 victory over La Crescenta Crescenta Valley. Corona scored on an error with two out in the seventh inning.

Division IV--West Hills Chaminade vs. Calabasas: Defending champion Chaminade (18-12) entered the playoffs as an unseeded team but advanced to the final by scoring the winning run in the sixth or seventh inning in each of its four postseason victories. Amy Rosson of Calabasas (20-7) pitched a two-hitter and struck out eight in the Coyotes’ 1-0 semifinal victory over North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake that advanced them to their first appearance in the finals.

Division VI--Boron vs. Temecula Linfield: Jennifer Jenkins pitched a seven-hitter and Jessica Love drove in both runs for Boron (20-5) in its 2-0 semifinal victory over defending champion Camarillo Cornerstone Christian. Linfield (22-8) beat Van Nuys Montclair Prep, 4-3, in the semifinals.

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Prep Softball

* What: Southern Section

Division Championships

* When: Today

* Where: Mayfair Park, Clark Avenue and South Street, Lakewood.

* Division II: Corona (28-3) vs. Cerritos (30-2), 10 a.m.

* Division IV: West Hills Chaminade (18-12) vs. Calabasas (21-7), 1 p.m.

* Division VI: Temecula Linfield (22-8) vs. Boron (20-5), 4:30 p.m.

* Division I: Foothill (32-2) vs. Mater Dei (31-1), 7:30 p.m.

* Tickets: All general admission, $8 adults, $3 children 12 and under.