Barrage of homers sparks St. Francis in CCS opener
Top-seeded and undefeated St. Francis came out firing on all cylinders in its CCS softball Open Division opener Monday.
Juniors Jessica Oakland and Jaz Hsiao each homered twice and drove in four runs, while sophomore Chloe Cummings fanned eight over four shutout innings as the Lancers blanked No. 8 Hillsdate 11-0.
The Lancers also got home runs from juniors Ella Milante and Brooke Deppiesse.
St. Francis earned its 23rd win this spring. Fourth-seeded Aragon will get the next shot in the CCS semifinals this afternoon after knocking off No. 5 Branham.
OPEN DIVISION: NO. 4 ARAGON 8, NO. 5 BRANHAM 5 >> After matching each other with a run apiece in the first inning, Branham opened a 4-1 lead with three runs in the top of the third. Aragon answered with a run in the bottom half and completed the comeback with emphasis the following inning. The Dons plated six runs in the bottom of the fourth and never trailed again.
Aragon will face a stiff test in the semifinals against undefeated St. Francis. The teams faced off once before this season in what was Aragon’s season opener — a 12-0 St. Francis victory.
OPEN DIVISION: NO. 6 PIONEER 4, NO. 3 LOS ALTOS 0 >> Senior Mari Takeda Bajan stymied third-seeded Los Altos for seven innings to lead Pioneer to an upset in the opening round of the CCS playoffs. Takeda Bajan, who is committed to play this fall at Chico State, faced six batters more than the minimum and struck out 10 over seven shutout innings.
Los Altos senior Shelby White matched Takeda Bajan for six frames before Pioneer broke the scoreless tie. Junior Emory Hansen and freshman Trinity Compani supplied the muchneeded offense with a pair of RBI knocks in the top of the seventh for the game’s only runs.
Pioneer, which improved to 14-5 this spring, will look to pull off another upset Wednesday in the semifinals at No. 2 Notre DameSalinas after its openinground win over Archbishop Mitty.
OPEN DIVISION: NO. 2 NOTRE DAME-SALINAS 4, NO. 7 ARCHBISHOP MITTY 3 >> Archbishop Mitty took Notre Dame-Salinas to extra innings but couldn’t pull off the upset in the opening round of the CCS playoffs.
Senior Angelita Fuentes and sophomore Addison Amaral drove in all four runs for Notre Dame, which rallied for one run and the walk off win in the bottom of the eighth. Junior Rocha Samantha went all eight innings for the Spirits, striking out eight while surrendering eight hits and walking one.
Notre Dame improved to 16-2 and will host No. 6 Pioneer in the CCS semifinals on Wednesday.
DIVISION I: NO. 3 WESTMONT 4, NO. 6 SILVER CREEK 3 >>
Silver Creek rallied for two runs to tie the game in the top of the seventh but its momentum was immediately stifled by Westmont’s rally of its own for a walkoff win to advance to the Division I semifinals.
Sophomore Bella Andrade drove in two runs for Westmont, which also got RBI knocks from senior Natalie Vasquez and junior Hailey Abdilla. Junior Ahmiya Noriega (3-4, R, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBIs) carried the offensive load for Silver Creek and helped key its seventhinning rally.
As the first team to advance in the Division I bracket, Westmont (18-5) awaits its semifinal opponent, the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between No. 7 Live Oak (11-2) and No. 2 Cupertino (17-2).