CHAMPIONSHIPS: Softball D4 rematch
who is 7-2 on the year with a 2.18 ERA. Caracciola has struck out 50 batters in 51 ⁄ innings this season, and is well-rested after not having pitched since beating Wheatland on May 9.
Lassen (22-8) is the No. 2 seed and finished second to West Valley in the Northern Athletic League. The Grizzlies beat Central Valley 13-0 in their first-round game before beating Corning 2-0 and 6-3 to sweep their semifinal series.
Last year, Sutter joined Hamilton as the first baseball programs to win five straight Northern Section titles. Hamilton has won five straight championships in Div. V and will play Winters at 10 a.m. today at Butte College for the Div. IV title.
“The kids are really excited about the opportunity. We’re pretty battle-tested after facing a lot of tough teams this year and we’ll face another one in Lassen,” said Sutter coach Stewart Peterson. “We’ve had a good week of practice and we’re ready to go.”
Like the baseball team, the Huskies’ softball team will play Lassen for all of the marbles in Div. IV when it hosts the Grizzlies at 2 p.m. at Ruth Lowman Field in Sutter.
The top-seeded Huskies (235-1) coasted to a 15-1 victory over Willows in their firstround game before beating Anderson 4-3 in Thursday’s semifinals.
This marks the fifth consecutive championship game appearance for Sutter, which saw its streak of three straight section titles come to an end with a 4-3 loss to Lassen in last year’s title game in Susanville.
The third-seeded Grizzlies (24-11) come into today’s game following a 2-1 victory over Central Valley in the first round and an upset 8-4 win over No. 2 West Valley in the semifinals on Thursday.
Two local teams will meet for the Div. V softball championship as No. 2 Colusa travels to Trowbridge to play top-seeded East Nicolaus in a rematch of last year’s title game at 2 p.m.
This showdown was almost a forgone conclusion when the season first began. The Spartans (26-5) cruised to the MidValley League title with a per- fect 9-0 record, and the RedHawks (29-4) captured the Sacramento Valley League title by going an 8-0.
The two teams have also combined to win the last three section titles. The Spartans won it in 2014, the RedHawks took it in 2015, and East Nic beat Colusa 1-0 in last year’s championship game.
Rounding out the local teams playing for a title today is Maxwell’s softball team, which will make the long trip to McArthur to play Fall River for the Div. VI crown. The sixth-seeded Panthers (14-5) have already posted two upset victories on the road, beating No. 3 Tulelake 26-15 in the first round and following that up with an 11-10 win over No. 2 Hayfork in Thursday’s semifinal game.
Fall River (14-7) also has two upset wins as the No. 5 seed, earning a 7-2 win over No. 4 Loyalton in the first round and coasting to a 21-0 beatdown of top-seeded Burney in the semifinals.
The entrance fee for all championship games is $8 for general admission, and $5 for seniors and students.