Murrieta Mesa falls to Kastor, Oaks Christian

MURRIETA » Micaela Kastor was familiar with Murrieta Mesa’s lineup through the travel ball world.

The Murrieta Mesa softball team came into Thursday’s Division 1 quarterfinal game averaging more than eight runs per game, and the Rams had scored a combined 21 runs over their first two playoffs games.

Kastor was not intimated, however. The Notre Dame-bound senior fired a three-hitter and struck out 13 to help Oaks Christian remain undefeated, and the Lions cruised into the semifinal behind a 9-0 victory.

The top-seeded Lions (31-0) will travel to Los Alamitos (23-7) for that semifinal game Saturday.

Kastor was in top form Thursday, using her entire repertoire of pitches to silence Murrieta Mesa’s bats.

“Last game, I thought I rushing too much and got into some tough spots,” Kastor said. “Today, I was determined to breathe a little more, slow things down and take my time from pitch to pitch.

“They have some great hitters, and I play against so many of them during the summer. I knew that to be effective today, I had to use all three of my speeds. I have always had that fast speed and the change-up. But adding a third speed in the middle has been a real game-changer for me this season.”

Oaks Christian loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first inning, but Murrieta Mesa’s Caylea Rains-Campbell escaped the jam when Anahi Arreola lined into an inningending double play.

The Lions broke through against Rains-Campbell in the third inning. Heaven Oliva led off with a single, and then Leisel Osteen went the opposite way for a two-run homer run to give Oaks Christian the lead. The Lions strung together four straight singles later in the inning to extend the advantage to 4-0, with Arreola and Lily Knox each driving in a run to cap the big inning.

“We are a good hitting team, so I knew our time would come,” Lions coach Peter Ackermann said.

Kastor allowed only one hit (an infield single to Paige Bambarger) the first time though the order. Murrieta Mesa (25-8) looked to turn the tables the second time through. Zoe Karam turned on an inside pitch in the fourth inning and belted it well over the wall in left field. The ball, however, hooked foul for a long strike. Kastor

threw a rise ball out of the zone on the next pitch to walk Karam, but then proceeded to strike out the next two hitters and get a fly ball to right to end that inning.

“They have a good team and you have to tip your hat to that girl (Kastor),” Murrieta Mesa coach Tony Romero said. “We hoped to play better, but there are going to be days like this sometimes.”

Ilove’a Brittingham doubled home a run in the fifth inning to extend Oaks Christian lead to 5-0, and the Lions added another run in the inning on an error. Arreola smacked a two-run home run to right field in the sixth inning, and Knox made it back-toback shots to put the Lions ahead 9-0.

Oak Christian finished with 16 hits in the game, and 10 players had at least one hit.