SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS / Softball

Orange County has teams left in only two divisions, the toughest and the most wide open, as semifinal games continue today.

Division I is the toughest, and it’s no surprise that Mater Dei and Foothill are still playing. Division III is the most wide open, yet second-seeded Sonora has held serve, while Laguna Hills and Pacifica have emerged in place of other seeded teams.

In a rematch of the section’s 1996 championship game, Mater Dei plays Camarillo in one Division I semifinal. Mater Dei, the top-seeded team in the division, needed eight innings to defeat Diamond Bar, 1-0, on Courtley Betley’s bases-loaded single.

But Betley and pitcher Tia Bollinger, coming off a three-hitter in the quarterfinal, have a tough assignment because they must travel to play Camarillo (23-8), which scratched out an unearned run in a 1-0 victory over Los Alamitos despite getting only three hits.

Third-seeded Foothill (31-2) avenged its only losses with a 1-0 win over Fountain Valley pitcher Natalie King. Now, the Knights will host an unexpected challenger, Etiwanda, which upset second-seeded Moreno Valley Valley View and UCLA-bound pitcher Keira Goerl.

It was Goerl who eliminated Foothill in last year’s quarterfinal round with a perfect game. Foothill Coach Joe Gonzalez, who scouted the Etiwanda game, said: “The better team won.” Courtney Fossatti rose to the occasion against King, pitching a one-hitter, and hopes to do so again.

In Division III, Laguna Hills can reach the section championship for the first time since it won the title in 1993, but must get past top-seeded Hacienda Heights Wilson. The Hawks are faster than in recent years, with senior Leslie Simien and freshman Dominique Lastrapes at the top of the order, and also have some solid punch in Katie Oliver and Jennifer Von Pohlmann.

Scoring runs won’t be easy--Wilson’s DePaul-bound senior April Valdez (9-1) is coming off a perfect game, and freshman Jamee Juarez is 17-3. However, Wilson struggled in 1-0 victories over Villa Park and Tustin.

Second-seeded Sonora (25-7) is trying to reach the finals for the first time since 1985, when it lost the Division 3-A title to Garden Grove. The Raiders, behind the pitching--and hitting--of Andee Lindgren and Carrie Wisen, have outscored three playoff opponents, 13-0. In Pacifica, the Raiders face a three-time defending champion that upset third-seeded Whittier La Serna, 1-0, in the quarterfinals on the strength of Julie Jordan’s home run.

* BACK ON BASE

Mater Dei’s Hoffmann is thankful for more than a semifinal berth in softball playoffs. Section V