Conquistadores win City softball title
VanHook hits three homers as El Camino Real earns its 16th section championship.
The Woodland Hills El Camino Real softball team claimed the City Section Open Division championship Saturday afternoon with a 9-0 victory over West Valley League-rival Granada Hills.
And the Conquistadores can thank Jordyn VanHook and Jillian Kelly the most. The victory gave El Camino Real (21-9) its 16th City softball title and first since 2016.
“Winning the championship is always the goal,” coach Jodi Borenstein said. “Especially with ECR it comes with the territory.”
The Arizona Statebound VanHook hit three home runs with seven RBIs and Kelly pitched a one-hitter. VanHook blasted a tworun home run in the third inning and another in the fourth inning. VanHook’s three-run shot in the fifth off Granada Hills pitcher Kit Zenga put the game away.
“It’s just crazy because I never thought it would be like this or get this far like this,” VanHook said. “It’s a great way to end my senior year. To finish my senior year like this and go out with a bang like this is great. It’s great to leave ECR with an experience like this.”
VanHook finished her career with 30 home runs and no one can remember anyone hitting three round-trippers in a championship game. Certainly not in the section’s highest division.
“Our team chemistry was amazing,” VanHook said. “We had a young team but we all had the physical capability.”
Kelly finished with six strikeouts. The lone single she surrendered came in the fifth with the Conquistadores ahead 6-0.
“I am so in shock,” Kelly said. “We came into the playoffs as such underdogs. We lost five seniors from last year. Nobody expected much from us. I felt really good about all my pitches. The screwball, changeup and rise ball. My teammates backed me up. But Jordyn is insane to watch. I have never seen a hitter like her.”
In the Division 1 championship, San Fernando Chavez had no problem with Los Angeles Roosevelt in a 3-0 victory. Arianna Martinez pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts to lead the Eagles. Paola Rodriguez hit a two-run homer and had an RBI single.