NIGHTHAWKS INCH CLOSER TO GOAL

Del Norte 7, Bonita Vista 0

The Del Norte High softball team is approaching the Danger Zone.

It’s a place no Nighthawk player has ever been.

Thanks to a two-hit, 7-0 win over No. 6 Bonita Vista on Tuesday, top-seeded Del Norte now stands two victories from its first title game.

Two more wins — both against No. 4 Otay Ranch on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Santee Sportsplex — would hand the Nighthawks (264-1) a berth in their first final in the Open Division.

“No one from this school has ever been there,” senior pitcher Emma Giaime said after her two-hit shutout. “We were in Division II last year and being this far along in the Open is exciting. We have so many Open teams on our schedule we know what’s happening.

“The championship game is something I’ve dreamed about since freshman year, but never thought I see, especially with COVID getting in the way.”

An if-necessary game would follow Thursday if Otay Ranch loses the first game.

Giaime kept the Barons (18-12) under wraps all day long with five strikeouts and no walks in improving her record to 17-3.

The USD-bound hurler doubled in a run in the third inning and finished off a sixrun fourth inning with another double.

Four hits and three walks along with a pair of errors doomed the Barons to elimination.

Del Norte can now make history.

“I have dreamed of that happening,” Giaime said.

“We’re down to one game at a time now. It is important to know who you might play next, but we can’t overestimate anyone now. Stay humble and play our best.”

For a team that has allowed just 68 runs all year — just 2.2 per game — that makes solid defense and a senior pitcher in the circle even more valuable.

The Nighthawks have scored 144 runs, but that is not their strength.

“We want to strike first, like we did today, and make the other team chase us for the rest of the day,” Giaime said. “It’s always better to be on top because trailing can be very tiring.”