Victoria Reigns Over Hueneme Tournament

Highland was enjoying its best season ever when it entered the 1998 Division I quarterfinals.

That postseason run was abruptly ended when Camarillo’s Cindy Ball hurled a no-hitter against a Highland lineup that had been hitting .356.

Highland (19-7) is enjoying an even better season in 2000, and won its first Golden League title.

Standing in the way again is Camarillo (21-8), the Pacific View League champion.

Ball is gone, but Illinois-bound right-hander Kathryn Nevard might be even better.

Nevard (15-6) hurled a perfect game in a 6-0 victory over Alhambra in the first round.

“We’ll have to be disciplined and conquer her riseball,” said Highland Coach Glenda Potts, whose team is batting .306. “From what I’ve heard about her, she might be the best pitcher we’ve faced all year.”

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The Mission League was the only league from the region to go unbeaten in the first round, with Harvard-Westlake, defending section champion Chaminade and Alemany each advancing in Division IV.

Third-place Alemany (17-12) advanced thanks to the bottom of its order.

No. 6 hitter Vanessa Rodrigue delivered a run-scoring double on Friday to spark a 3-0 upset of Las Padres League champion Lompoc Cabrillo.

No. 9 hitter Kerrie O’Shea had the game-winning hit in the Indians’ 1-0 victory over Nordhoff in a wild-card game.

O’Shea missed practice the day before the game because she was studying for her third advanced-placement test in a week.

“I told her dad that we should send her home to study and miss practice every day,” Coach Dudley Rooney said.

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The Foothill also has made an impressive postseason showing, going 4-1, including wild-card victories by Valencia and Canyon.

Valencia (19-9), disappointed to be sent to a wild card after finishing second in its league, routed San Marcos, 9-0, in the qualifier, then outlasted highly regarded Simi Valley, 3-2, in a 17-inning first-round game.

They were the first playoff victories in the Viking program’s five-year history.

“I told the girls we were sent to a wild card because we hadn’t established any kind of a reputation,” Coach Donna Lee said. “We had to prove ourselves. Watch, if we finish second next year, I bet we’re not put in a wild-card game.”

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The Marmonte League, long considered the region’s strongest league, was 1-3 in first-round games, with champion Thousand Oaks the only team to reach a second-round contest.

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Highland and Thousand Oaks, which figure to be among the region’s top teams next season, have agreed to play a nonleague doubleheader on April 21, 2001.

The teams are hopeful they can play at either Cal State Northridge or UCLA’s Easton Stadium.

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No. 2-seeded Harvard-Westlake (23-4) lost a coin flip and will have to travel to Azusa for a second-round Division IV game today, but you won’t hear the Wolverines complain.

Azusa outlasted Central Union of El Centro, 1-0, in a playoff opener.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Wolverine Coach Terry Elledge said. “We could have been sent off to El Centro.”

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Mackenzie Vandergeest of La Reina continues to add to her region-leading home run total.

The Arizona-bound catcher hit Nos. eight and nine on Friday in a 23-0 first-round rout of Lancaster Desert Christian, breaking the school record of eight set by Shane Anderson, who played at Stanford.

La Reina (20-4), seeded No. 1 in Division V, travels to Westridge for the second round.

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Catcher Olaya Salazar of Quartz Hill has committed to the University of San Diego.

Salazar, who batted .393 for the Rebels, will join pitcher Anna Russell of Harvard-Westlake, who committed to the Tritons before the season.

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Two-time defending Division VI champion Cornerstone Christian (20-3), which plays Santa Maria Valley Christian today, has a region-best 11-game winning streak in the playoffs.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

City Invitational Final

Washington vs. Monroe at UCLA, 2 p.m.

Southern Section

Second Round

Games at 3:15 p.m.

Division I

Highland at Camarillo

Division II

Glendora at Hart

Thousand Oaks at Hueneme

La Palma Kennedy at Valencia

Crescenta Valley at California

Division IV

San Dimas vs. Chaminade at Chaminade Middle School in Chatsworth, 3:45 p.m.

Bonita at Alemany

Ridgecrest Burroughs at Calabasas

Harvard-Westlake at Azusa

Division V

La Reina at Westridge

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel vs. Paraclete at Jane Reynolds Park in Lancaster

Village Christian at Pasadena Poly

Santa Maria St. Joseph at St. Bonaventure

Division VI

Faith Baptist at Avalon

Cornerstone Christian at Valley Christian Academy

Santa Clarita Christian at Montclair Prep

Victor Valley Christian at Grace Brethren