Granada Hills softball advances to City Section final, where it hopes to reverse a recent trend
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Granada Hills has earned the top seed in the City Section Open Division softball playoffs three years in a row, but in that time it has yet to be No. 1 at the end of the season.
The Highlanders will get another chance to do just that — and get a little redemption — when they face their nemesis Carson in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m. at Cal State Northridge.
“You’re peaking at the right time,” coach Ivan Garcia told his team after Wednesday’s five-inning 19-0 semifinal shutout of visiting Venice. “This was the best game we’ve played so far from start to finish, but we have one more. Let’s put a punctuation mark on the season!”
Pitcher Addison Moorman struck out nine of the 16 batters she faced and got plenty of support from the offense as the Highlanders (27-3) batted around in the first inning and scored six runs. They added four runs in the second on RBI singles by Samantha Esparza, Annabella Ramirez and Jasmine Soriano and an RBI triple by Zoe Justman.
In the third, the home side kept pouring it on as Lainey Brown hit a two-run single and Elysse Diaz added a two-run triple. Granada Hills finished with 15 hits — three each by Esparza and Diaz and two each by Soriano, Justman and Brown. The Highlanders’ defense was also on display as center fielder Jocelyn Jimenez made a running over-the-shoulder grab to rob the Gondoliers’ Sandy Carrera of extra bases in the fourth.
Granada Hills has outscored its first two playoff opponents 32-0 and only a bloop single in the second inning kept Moorman from back-to-back no-hitters.
“We’ve bonded more since last year and I’ve worked on my changeup,” said Moorman, who signed with Lehigh in November. “We’re playing as a team right now and we know what it’s like to be on the big stage.”
The Highlanders have posted an 80-12 record the last three seasons, their only two defeats in City competition coming in extra innings to Carson in the finals. They get another crack at the third-seeded Colts (22-3-1), who routed San Pedro 11-1 in Wednesday’s other semifinal, and hope the third time’s the charm. Granada Hills will not participate in the SoCal Regionals like it did one year ago.
“Losing in the finals the last two years has helped us with our mindset and will help to eliminate the nerves because we know what to expect,” said Brown, a Manhattan University commit who graduates alongside Moorman on Thursday night. “Our coaches have preached all season ‘next man up’ and go base to base. We’ve all put in a ton of work and we’re extra motivated because of who we’re playing [in the finals].”
Brown is happy the game will be at CSUN instead of in the South Bay, where the previous two finals were played (at Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2023 and at Long Beach State last spring when Carson prevailed 1-0 in 14 innings despite Moorman’s 19 strikeouts).
“I’ve done camps there [at Northridge] and the last two years it’s been long bus rides,” Brown added. “Last year we got there late and couldn’t warm up efficiently, so I’m glad this time it’s right down the street.”
Carson also appears to be rounding into postseason form. The Colts mercied Birmingham 16-5 in the quarterfinals of the eight-team Open bracket and avenged two Marine League losses to second-seeded San Pedro (17-4) on Wednesday for their sixth win in a row.
Carson has won five City crowns, all in the upper division, since 2011. Granada Hills is seeking its first title in 44 years, having won the 4A Division in 1975, 1980 and 1981.
“I’m graduating tomorrow night, yet it’s been hard to focus on school,” Moorman said. “It slips my mind. It’s all about Saturday right now.”
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