Santa Paula Confronts Nemesis

Santa Paula High finally has a chance to finish ahead of Calabasas in the Frontier League softball standings.

The Cardinals (19-3, 9-1) in league play), runners-up to the Coyotes (11-9, 10-1) the last two seasons, travel to Calabasas on Friday to settle the league championship.

Calabasas won the Southern Section Division IV championship last season and seeks its fourth consecutive league title, but Santa Paula has proven formidable, splitting the teams’ first two league showdowns.

The Cardinals are doing it with a core of talented seniors, including six who helped Santa Paula’s Bobby Sox team reach the national tournament for the first time in 1994.

Pitchers Jalena Martinez (11-0) and Lauren Bustillos (7-2), third baseman Vanessa Guerrero, outfielder Jessica Mata and twins Carla, a catcher, and Claudia Berumen, a center fielder, have helped Santa Paula close in on a title.

“They’ve been playing together for a long time,” first-year Coach Rudy Bustillos said. “They all know each other and what everybody can do. They’re comfortable together.”

Valencia, ranked No. 2 in the region by The Times, and No. 3 Hart will meet Thursday for the Foothill League championship.

All-Valley catcher Sara Dean of Hart is expected to play, although she was limited to designated hitter last week after injuring her left, catching, wrist at a weekend travel ball practice.

Dean, who has committed to Auburn, says she will be behind the plate when the Indians (23-4, 8-1) travel to Valencia (22-4, 9-0) for the league finale.

Whether she is 100% remains in question.

“She said she didn’t care how bad off she is,” Hart Coach Cathy Giordano said. “She said she was going to suck it up and play.”

Valencia, ranked No. 1 last week, lost to No. 4 Rio Mesa and No. 6 Thousand Oaks on Saturday in the Thousand Oaks tournament when 10 Vikings, including five starters, were missing because of the school’s prom.

“It’s OK,” Coach Donna Lee said Saturday. “Other kids will get a chance to play and we’ll be ready [for league and the playoffs].”

It was a familiar situation for Chrissy Hildebrandt, Rio Mesa’s San Francisco State-bound third baseman. A similar result, too.

With the international tiebreaker rule in effect in the eighth inning, Hildebrandt singled in a runner from second base to defeat Valencia, 2-1, in the Thousand Oaks tournament semifinals.

A week earlier, again with the international tiebreaker, Hildebrandt smashed a single to score a runner from second and give the Spartans a 1-0 victory over Hart in pool play.

“It felt like deja vu,” she said.

Kelly Kalish of La Canada continues to dominate.

The junior pitcher has played a key role in helping the Spartans (20-2-1) clinch their third consecutive Rio Hondo League title. They climbed to No. 3 this week in the Southern Section Division IV poll.

Kalish is batting a team-high .371 and is 14-2 with a 0.29 earned-run average.

Last week, she retired 54 of 59 batters, including 25 in a row, in hurling three shutouts. A 7-0 victory over Crossroads at the El Segundo tournament was her second no-hitter of the season.