Southern Section

SOUTHERN SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Barber Park, Irvine

Saturday, June 5

DIVISION II

Corona Santiago 3, Corona 0
Finally, Taryne Mowatt has her championship.

The strikeout queen for Corona Santiago, whose four-year varsity career has been characterized by victories, shutouts, and coming up short in the playoffs, delivered the goods Saturday night at Barber Park in Irvine.

The top-seeded Sharks, ranked No. 3 in the Southland and No. 6 in the nation, defeated Mountain View League rival Corona for the Division II title, 3-0.

The shutout was the 69th of Mowatt’s career, tying her for third-best in Southern Section history with Lisa Fernandez, who played for Lakewood St. Joseph from 1986-89. Santiago is 28-3, and Corona - the third-place team in league and ranked fifth in the Southland - finished 23-9.

“We weren’t going to lose,” said Mowatt, who is 91-16 in her career. “You can write that down.”

Nevertheless, Mowatt admitted she was more nervous for this game than any other, perhaps because so much more was at stake. It was, after all, her final high school appearance.

“It feels so good,” she said. “I ended it on a win. Most people don’t do that.”

Despite the nerves, she was never worried. Her defense was spectacular behind her. Asked if anyone could beat the Sharks on this night, Mowatt said yes. “The Olympic team.”

Mowatt (24-3) was perfect in six innings, but allowed two hits in the third; she struck out five in the teams’ fourth game against each other, the third victory by Santiago. She is tough to beat when her team scores one run, much less three. She led off the game with a single against opposing pitcher Brittney Bargar (22-9), and pinch-runner Kelli Hawkins scored after a walk and two hits, the last a single to left field by Crystal Gutierrez.

The lead became gaudy in the second inning with the benefit of two Corona errors, one allowing Kadie Baldwin to get on base, the other allowing her to score, and an RBI single by Tiffany Wright that made it 3-0.

Bargar, who beat Santiago the last week of the regular season, gave up six hits over the first three innings, struck out nine and retired the final 12 batters.

“We were just so nervous,” said Corona coach Jo Ann Byrd. “Once we settled down, we were OK.”

Bargar and Elise Arrietta - batting eighth and ninth in the order - had the hits off Mowatt.

It was Santiago’s first title since their only other appearance in 1998. Corona, which won back-to-back titles in 1991-92, lost its last title game, to Cerritos in 2000.
--Martin Henderson

Santiago 120 000 0 -- 3 6 0
Corona 000 000 0 -- 0 2 2

Mowatt and Long. Bargar and LeSage. WP-Mowatt (24-3). LP-Bargar (22-9).

Records: Corona Santiago (28-3); Corona (23-9).

DIVISION III

Pacifica 4, La Mirada 1
Fair or foul? That was the question on everyone’s lips.

It was foul. Noelle Micka, the batter who hit the line-drive double down the third base line even said so.

It was fair. At least, that’s what umpire Ray Triplett ruled.

And that’s how it stood, opening the door for top-seeded Garden Grove Pacifica to successfully defend its Southern Section Division III title Saturday at Barber Park in Irvine with a 4-1 victory over third-seeded La Mirada.

Micka’s controversial run-scoring double in the bottom of the fifth inning was followed by a three-run homer by Crystal Vieyra, and Pacifica (31-2) stole victory from La Mirada (28-5) for a second year in a row in the championship game.

Lightning, indeed, strikes twice. Last year, Pacifica trailed by three runs going into the bottom of the sixth inning, then scored nine for a 9-3 victory.

This season, the Mariners were down to their final seven outs when they got another jolt of electricity for their fifth title.

With two outs and runners at first and second on an error and fielder’s choice, Micka’s line drive down the third base line was ruled by Triplett to have glanced off the glove of third baseman Simone Holland. There was no doubt it was off Holland’s glove.

“I played the line and I dove,” Holland said. “There is no way it could have been fair.”

“The ball was foul, but she was in fair territory,” said Micka.

“I’m not saying it was fair or foul,” said Pacifica Coach Rob Weil, who was in the third base coach’s box.

But, he added, “those are things you have to swallow as coach.”

Losing coach Rich Trujillo didn’t swallow very easily, but his protests were in vain.

“[Triplett] admitted it was foul but he wouldn’t ask for help,” said Trujillo, who argued for several minutes. “I said, ‘Why not ask.’ He said, ‘Because it’s my call. Get out of here.’”

Then came Vieyra, a senior who had singled in the first inning. This time, she didn’t stop at first base. She crushed her fourth homer of the season about 220 feet to the opposite field, easily clearing the right field fence. Three of Vieyra’s homers came in the playoffs.

“It was outside and down,” said Vieyra, a senior second baseman on a team that starts four freshmen. “A couple of players were getting rattled. We just told them, ‘Don’t give up. At this time last year, we were down by three. Don’t give up. Believe.’”

Trujillo, still boiling, went after Triplett in the sixth inning after being charged a visit to the pitcher after Weil called timeout to talk to a batter, he said. He was ejected, and wasn’t even allowed by Southern Section officials to return after the game to get his gear from the dugout.

Brittany Weil (26-2) got the victory for Pacifica, which is ranked No. 1 in the Southland and state, and No. 3 in the nation by the National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. She struck out nine and allowed only two hits, to Holland with two outs in the fourth, and Nikki Johnson with two outs in the seventh.

Her defense committed four errors behind her, including three in the third inning; Pacifica hadn’t made three errors in a game all season. A two-out throwing error by freshman shortstop Monica Harrison allowed Alexi Trujillo to reach first, and after Trujillo stole second, Harrison dropped a fly ball behind her on a play in which she should have given way to the left fielder.

Alyssa Gutierrez (19-4) took the loss for La Mirada. She gave up six hits and struck out four, but had good defense behind her; Pacifica had runners on base in every inning.
--Martin Henderson

La Mirada 001 000 0 -- 1 2 2
Pacifica 000 040 x -- 4 6 4

Gutierrez and Fernandez; Weil and Micka. WP-Weil (26-2). LP-Gutierrez (19-4). 2B-Micka (P). HR-Vieyra (P).

DIVISION IV

Westlake Village Oaks Christian 7, Barstow 1
Taylor Schlopy (19-1) pitched a three-hitter with five strikeouts and also had two hits, but the freshman right-hander used her feet as much as her arm to set the tone for the Division IV championship game at Barber Park in Irvine.

Schlopy singled to right field to open the game, and then, in short order, stole second base, third, and home plate to score Oaks Christian’s first run and send the top-seeded Lions on their way to their second consecutive title.

“It gave me a rush to steal home,” Schlopy said. “I think it was good that we did it because it set precedent.”

Oaks Christian (34-1), which boasts a record of 66-3 over the past two years, ended the season with a 14-game winning streak since its only loss, a 4-1 setback at the hands of Westlake Village Westlake on April 24. That loss snapped a 46-game winning streak by the Lions that stretched through the last 26 games of last season and the first 22 games of this one.

“Our girls came to play today, and being here before really helped,” Oaks Christian Coach Pete Ackermann said. “It puts an exclamation point on the season.”

Oaks Christian put on an impressive display of base-running, coming away with five steals, including four by Schlopy, and the Lions showed off plenty of firepower with 10 hits, including seven to the outfield. Ashlee Veilleux, Bryeanne Fitzgerald and Julia Humphries, as well as Schlopy, had two hits apiece. Defensively, Oaks Christian kept Barstow (20-7) under wraps with help from catcher Amber Peterson, who threw two runners out at second base. The Aztecs were making their first appearance in a championship game, compared to four appearances in four years for the Lions, who competed in Division VI until last season.

After Schlopy scored in the first inning for a quick 1-0 lead, the Lions added two runs in the second inning and capitalized on three hits and an error for three runs in the third. Schlopy scored the Lions’ last run in the seventh.

Senior right-hander Amy Thomas (19-5) returned to the pitching circle after sitting out Barstow’s 2-1 semifinal victory over Mission Viejo Tesoro because of a foot injury sustained in a recent car accident. She finished with three strikeouts and no walks.
--Lauren Peterson

Oaks Christian 123 000 1 -- 7 10 1
Barstow 010 000 0 -- 1 3 3

Schlopy and Peterson; Thomas and Cooper. WP-Schlopy (19-1); LP-Thomas (19-5); 2B-Fitgerald (OC), Humphries (OC), Veilleux (OC), Mitchell (B).

DIVISION VI

Sierra Madre Alverno 3, Saddleback Valley Christian 0
Junior right-hander Jessica Stewart (20-4-1) pitched a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts and the Jaguars (21-4-1) took full advantage of a missed tag that led to a three-run fourth inning and decided the Division VI championship game at Barber Park in Irvine.

Stewart twisted her back out of the reach of Saddleback Valley Christian shortstop Heather Aldridge, escaping the latter’s tag attempt while advancing from second base to third on an Erica Ramirez ground ball that should have been the third out of the fourth inning but loaded the bases instead. Stewart had walked to open the inning, Katelyn Scott hit a bunt single, Bryana Pickford popped up and Veronica Vasquez struck out before the botched defensive play.

“That’s luck, right there, getting away from that tag,” Stewart said. “And when one person does one thing, we feed off that, and keep on going.”

The Warriors (22-6-1) argued that Stewart had run off the base path to avoid the out, but umpires sided with the Jaguars (21-4-1), ruling that the runner was safe at third after a brief discussion.

Stewart scored the second-seeded Jaguars’ first run off Saddleback Valley Christian right-hander Katie Finley (20-6) when the next batter, Monique Escamilla, dropped a single down the first-base line, behind first baseman Brittany Fegel and in front of right-fielder Carlie Adamo.

The Jaguars, who also defeated the Warriors in the semifinals en route to a runner-up finish in the division last season, got two more runs in the fourth on a single up the middle by Paula Morreale and a fielding error by second baseman Tiffany Panter.
--Lauren Peterson

Saddleback Valley Christian 000 000 0 -- 0 4 1
Sierra Madre Alverno 000 300 x -- 3 5 1

Finley and Sharp; Stewart and Scott. WP-Stewart (20-4-1); LP-Finley (20-6); 3B-Adamo (SVC); 2B-Garcia.

Records: Saddleback Valley Christian 22-6-1; Alverno 21-4-1.

Friday, June 4

DIVISION I

Riverside Poly 1, Los Alamitos 0
Somehow, in Riverside Poly’s celebration of winning its first Southern Section Division I softball title, Mindy Cowles got squeezed to the outside, which hardly seemed fair. She is, after all, the core of this team.

But Cowles didn’t mind because she had what she so desperately wanted in her senior season -- a title. And it was another player, junior Lindsey Ubrun, who had delivered it with one swing of her bat.

Ubrun knocked a long fly over the center-field fence for the only run in top-seeded Poly’s victory over Los Alamitos (22-9-2) at Barber Park in Irvine on Friday night. Ubrun’s fifth-inning blast was reminiscent of the 1993 shot by Sara Griffin that gave Simi Valley a 1-0 victory over Los Alamitos in its last championship appearance.

It was Ubrun’s first home run in three varsity seasons. It was only her second hit in five playoff victories. The other, a double, delivered the winning run against fourth-seeded Santa Ana Mater Dei in the semifinals.

“It was something that was flat,” Ubrun said of Stacey Nelson’s one-ball, no-strike offering to lead off the fifth inning. The 210-foot homer was one of three hits by Poly (26-5) off Nelson (17-9).

As for Cowles (19-4), she did her part, getting tough in the circle when she needed to. She gave up five hits, all in the first four innings, but stranded five runners. It was a different game after the homer. Cowles retired nine of the last 10, the exception reaching on an error.

“They had a lot of opportunities,” said Cowles. “It made me nervous.”
--Martin Henderson

Poly.................000 010 0 -- 1 3 1
Los Alamitos....000 000 0 -- 0 5 2
Cowles and Rainwater; Nelson and Mickelson. W-Cowles (19-4). L-Nelson (17-9). HR-Ubrun (P). P (26-5); LA (22-9-2).

DIVISION V

Ontario Christian 1, Village Christian 0 (8 innings)
In the finals for the first time since 1983, Ontario Christian (25-5) won its first section title since 1978 with a 1-0 victory ove defending champion and fourth-seeded Village Christian in the Southern Section Division V title game Friday night at Barber Park in Irvine.

The Knights managed only three hits against Stanford-bound Lauren Nydam, one in each of the last three innings. The final was the biggest as junior Rachelle Conroy had an oppostive-field, leadoff double that was about a foot beyond the outstretched glove of right fielder Anjie Jones and about a foot fair. Conroy took third on a wild pitch and scored on Brittany Burks’ grounder to second base.Jessica Hibma (20-3) threw a seven-hitter to get the victory despite Village Christian putting runners on base in six of the eight innings.

“We just needed to get that one hit,” Conroy said. “It’s about who comes through first.”

Error-less defense was critical to Ontario Christian’s victory, and it was evident in the bottom of the eight inning. After a leadoff single and error allowed Jones to reach second base, she was thrown out at third by Conroy on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Alex Kinney, who reach on the bunt, was thrown out by catcher Nicole Prestia trying to steal. Meghan Hanna popped up to end the game.
--Martin Henderson

Ontario Christian...000 000 01 -- 1 3 0
Village Christian....000 000 00 -- 0 7 1
Hibma and Prestia; Nydam and Stone. W-Hibma (20-3). L-Nydam (18-10). 2B-Conroy (OC). Records: OC (25-5); VC (21-11).

Saturday, June 5

DIVISION II

Corona Santiago (27-3) vs. Corona (23-8), 7:30 p.m.

DIVISION III

Garden Grove Pacifica (30-2) vs. La Mirada (28-4), 1 p.m.

DIVISION IV

Oaks Christian (33-1) vs. Barstow (20-6), 4:30 p.m.

DIVISION VI

Saddleback Valley Christian (22-5-1) vs. Alverno (20-4-1), 10 a.m.

Tuesday, June 1

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

Semifinals

DIVISION I

Los Alamitos 3, Camarillo 0
Pinch runner Allison Cummings scored the winning run on a single by Janelle Zuniga in the second inning and Zuniga and Taryn Tulay each added ab RBI single in the fourth inning for host Los Alamitos (22-8-2). Stacey Nelson (18-8) pitched a five-hitter with nine strikeouts for the Griffins. Camarillo finishes the season 23-8.

The loss went to freshman Lindsey Dean (15-2).

“They got the pitching they liked,” said Los Alamitos Coach Jim Dolan, whose team lost May 8 to Camarillo, 2-0. “The other kid [sophomore Kelly McGregor] beat us in the Thousand Oaks tournament. They came back with the freshman, she three down, and we liked to hit the down stuff.

“They fell right into our hands.”

Riverside Poly 3, Mater Dei 0 (8 innings)
Lindsey Ubrin batted .500 in Ivy League play, but she didn’t get her first hit of the playoffs until Tuesday. And it was big.

With Mindy Cowles racing from first base, Ubrin delivered a line drive in the right center field gap providing a two-out, run-scoring double in the top of the eighth inning in top-seeded Riverside Poly’s 3-0 victory over fourth-seeded Santa Ana Mater Dei. It sends the Bears (25-5), ranked eighth in the Southland, to the Southern Section Division I finals against Los Alamitos. It is the first time Poly has ever gone past the quarterfinals.

The play was not without controversy.

First-base umpire David Yamakawa of the Long Beach Assn., raised his hands as if to signal dead ball and call Cowles out for leaving the base too early on the hit-and-run play, but didn’t make a verbal commitment to the dead ball. “I decided against it,” he said. After an argument from right fielder Ashley Weber - Ubrun’s liner was hit between her and the center fielder - and Mater Dei Coach Doug Myers, officials conferred twice. Afterward, home plate umpire Dan Brown refused to explain the decision to The Times.

Shauna Rainwater followed with another double to make it 2-0, and Morgan Stuart deliverd a line single to make it 3-0.

“I don’t think I did [leave early],” said Cowles, who got aboard on a throwing error. “I was worried about the first baseman being in my lane.”

Whether Cowles left early is irrelevant, as far as Mater Dei is concerned: When the hands went up, the ball became dead since it is, after all, the signal for dead ball.

“That’s a great team, I just wish they had beat us under a different set of circumstances,” Myers said. “You throw your hands up, it stops the play.”

Cowles (17-4) was terrific. She gave up seven hits, but struck out nine, including five in a row after Mater Dei’s Kristen Pocock reached second base in the second inning. She had another strikeout, after a bouncer back to the box, following Allie Aleman’s one-out triple in the fifth. Another came with runners at first and second in the seventh.

It was a far cry from the last time they played, on May 8 in the title game of the Thousand Oaks tournament. In that game, a fatigued Cowles - who had just pitched her team past Fullerton Rosary - gave up three runs in the first inning against Mater Dei in a 4-2 loss.

“I was dead the last time I faced them, pitching two games back-to-back with no break,” Cowles said. “I was a lot stronger.”

Her coach, Eddie Jones, said facing Mater Dei in the Thousand Oaks tournament was an advantage on Tuesday because in the first meeting, “we were a little intimidated.”

It wasn’t that way Tuesday. Riverside Poly got eight hits against Briana Santos (13-3) and had runners in scoring position in five of the eight innings, and stranded six runners on base in the first four innings, nine total.
--Martin Henderson

DIVISION II

Corona 5, Norco 1
Brittney Bargar (22-8) pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and two walks to lead host Corona (23-8) to a semifinal upset of third-seeded and Mountain View League rival Norco (25-5).

Sabrina Hernandez was three for three with a run-scoring single in the second inning and Brooke LeSage hit a two-run home run in the fifth to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead.

Brook Frydendall went two for four, including a triple, and scored twice for Corona, which tallied a season-high 13 hits off Norco ace Daniela Urincho (23-5).

Urincho threw all seven innings and finished with five strikeouts. Jessica Powell, pinch running for Sara Bird, scored the Cougars’ only run in the top of the seventh on three infield errors.

Corona Santiago 9, El Modena 0
Taryne Mowatt threw a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and one walk to lead top-seeded Corona Santiago (27-3). Mowatt went two for four and faced the minimum 21 batters as the Sharks turned a double play in the fourth. The Arizona-bound senior also retired 10 in a row in two separate stretches during the game.

Crystal Gutierrez went three for four with two doubles, four RBIs and one run scored, and Kelsey Bruder was three for four with two RBIs and two runs scored for Santiago.

Visiting El Modena finishes the season 22-11.

DIVISION III

Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Sonora 0
The top-seeded Mariners (30-2) scored immediately against Sonora pitcher Christine Farrell. In the top of the first inning, Noelle Micka doubled, Crystal Vieyra reached on a fielder’s choice, Monica Harrison’s pop-up landed between the left fielder and the shortstop to load the bases, and then Ashlyn Watson hit a two-run single to center field. Colbee Shackleford’s ground out to second base later scored Harrison.

Farrell (22-8) retired 15 in a row after Watson’s single. She allowed four hits and struck out eight for the Raiders (22-8).

Brittany Weil (25-2) gave up two hits and struck out five for Pacifica. The Mariners, ranked No. 1 in the Southland, will play La Mirada in a rematch of last year’s final.

La Mirada 3, Hemet 0
Third-seeded La Mirada improves to 28-4. Visiting Hemet finishes 24-7.

DIVISION IV

Barstow 2, Tesoro 1
With pitcher Amy Thomas out due to the aftereffects of an automobile accident, Barstow junior Erica Aguayo came through big in her third appearance in the circle. Aguayo went the distance for the win, throwing a seven-hitter with two strikeouts, and drove in both runs with a second-inning triple and a third-inning single as the Aztecs (20-6) earned a trip to Irvine for a matchup with top-seeded Oaks Christian.

Nicole Aaronson (18-6) lost despite allowing only three hits and striking out eight. Nicole Eggold’s RBI single, which drove in Kylee Clouse, in the fourth inning accounted for the lone run for Tesoro. Tori Catalano had two hits for the second-year varsity Titans (23-9), who made four errors.

Oaks Christian 4, St. Paul 2
Julia Humphries led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a triple to spark a four-run rally for top-seeded Oaks Christian (33-1). Ashlee Vielleux singled and scored the winning run on a fielder’s choice. Tiffany Dyke followed with a single, stole second and scored on a single by Kaslin Tucker, who scored the last run on an error. Franny Morlett walked and scored on an error in the first inning and Victoria Castillo scored on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh inning for fourth-seeded St. Paul (25-5-1). Vielleux was relieved at the start of the second inning by Taylor Schlopy (18-1), who allowed two hits and struck out five in six innings.

DIVISION V

Ontario Christian 7, Arrowhead Christian 0
Ontario Christian improves to 24-5; Visiting Arrowhead Christian finishes 20-8.

Village Christian 1, La Reina 0 (8 innings)
Junior Meghan Hanna had a base hit to right center to drive in pinch runner Gumby Santos in the bottom of the eighth to lead host Village Christian (21-10), the fouth seed in the division. Shelly Henning reached on an error to start the inning. Santos advanced from first to third on two sacrifice bunts before Hanna knocked her in. Stanford-bound Lauren Nydam (18-9) pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and scattering six hits, for the defending-champion Crusaders. Top-seeded La Reina ends the season 22-5-2.

DIVISION VI

Alverno 1, Woodcrest Christian 0
Katelyn Scott scored on a single by Erica Ramirez with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and Jessica Stewart (19-4-1) pitched a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts for second-seeded Alverno (20-4-1). Third-seeded Woodcrest Christian finishes 17-5.

Saddleback Valley Christian 2, Riverside Christian 0 (13 innings)
Top-seeded Saddleback Valley Christian improves to 22-5-1. Fourth-seeded Riverside Christian finishes 19-4.