The finals of this year’s Hilltop High School softball invitational tournament have been rescheduled for April 28.
The tournament was originally set to end last weekend.
“We had to move everything back because of the rains,” HHS coach Juan Reyes explained. “This last weekend we finished up pool play. We had to schedule the finals on April 28 because some of the teams had prior commitments in other tournaments.”
Sixteen teams are entered in this year’s tournament. Eight teams advance to the playoff round.
Six of those eight playoff qualifiers have already been decided based on the results of pool play.
Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch have advanced among local teams, joining West Hills, Santana, Granite Hills and Scripps Ranch high schools.
Hilltop will host Clairemont on Friday, March 30, in a rescheduled pool game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Clairemont, Hilltop and El Capitan are battling for the final two playoff berths.
Hilltop finished runner-up to Steele Canyon in last year’s championship game.
“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, if we are going to make the finals in our own tournament, we have to beat Clairemont,” Reyes said.
The Lancers opened tournament play March 15 with a 6-2 loss to visiting El Capitan; Hilltop then defeated visiting San Diego, 7-6, last Saturday.
Jizabel Campa led the offense in the win over San Diego by going three-for-three with two doubles and two RBI. Campa, a senior infielder, also went two-for-three in the loss to El Capitan.
Junior Alexia Sandoval picked up the win in the pitching circle against the Cavers.
Last year, the Lancers finished 3-0 in pool play, then defeated El Capitan and Bonita Vista in the playoffs to meet Steele Canyon in the championship game.
“We graduated a lot, so it’s going to be tougher this year,” Reyes noted. “This year we’re a lot younger. We have three freshmen starting.”
Reyes said the quality of this year’s Hilltop tournament is top notch.
“We have some better teams (participating) this year,” the Hilltop coach said. “We’ve gotten several of the top teams in East County to come down. Santana is a top 10 team and Granite Hills could be a top 10 team by the end of the season.
“Bonita Vista is an Open Division team. Clairemont is the surprise team after beating Mater Dei Catholic in the Cougar Classic. El Capitan will probably finish high in Division III.”
Hilltop is off to a 5-4-1 start, including Tuesday’s 6-4 non-league victory against visiting Sweetwater.
Bonita Vista is 5-3-2 while Otay Ranch is 3-4-1.
All Hilltop tournament playoff games will take place on April 28. Quarterfinals are scheduled at 9 and 11 a.m., followed by semifinals at 1 p.m. The championship game is scheduled at 3 p.m.
Extra bases
In tournament games last Saturday:
- West Hills’ Ashleigh Hartwig slammed three home runs, including a grand slam, to account for 10 RBI in a 27-1 win over Montgomery. The Wolf Pack set a new section record with eight home runs in the game.
- Hayley Johnson and Bailey Wallace each stroked triples in Granite Hills’ 11-0 win over Southwest. Wallace drove in three runs in a 6-0 win over Otay Ranch later in the day.
Go green
Campa drove in three runs in Tuesday’s come-from-behind win over Sweetwater, including two runs on a double in the bottom of the fourth inning to erase a 4-3 Red Devil lead.
Sandoval pitched three-and-one-third innings of scoreless ball in relief to pick up the win, allowing just one hit.
Tatiana Milo scored an insurance run for Hilltop in the fifth inning, with Alicia Corona picking up credit for the RBI.
Sweetwater, which led early 1-0, took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth inning on the strength of three runs.
Serena Mena went three-for-four to lead the Devils (8-2) in the game. Isabelle Lovelady pitched six innings. She allowed two earned runs in the loss to see her record fall to 7-2 on the season.
Hilltop Tournament
Pool Play Results
Thursday, March 15
Bonita Vista 7, Scripps Ranch 1
El Capitan 6, Hilltop 2
Clairemont 11, San Diego 0
Saturday, March 17
Santana 3, Calexico 2
Monday, March 19
Granite Hills 5, Steele Canyon 1
Otay Ranch 12, Southwest 6
West Hills 7, Calexico 2
Wednesday, March 21
Santana 13, Montgomery 0
Valhalla 3, Southwest El Centro 2
Saturday, March 24
Scripps Ranch 13, Southwest El Centro 0
Southwest El Centro 8, Bonita Vista 5
Bonita Vista 3, Valhalla 2
Scripps Ranch 13, Valhalla 11
Hilltop 7, San Diego 6
El Capitan 15, San Diego 3
Otay Ranch 4, Steele Canyon 2
Steele Canyon 16, Southwest 5
Granite Hills 6, Otay Ranch 0
Granite Hills 11, Southwest 0
West Hills 27, Montgomery 1
Santana 13, West Hills 1
Calexico 20, Montgomery 0
Tuesday, March 27
El Capitan 3, Clairemont 2
Friday, March 30
Clairemont at Hilltop, 3:30 p.m.
Pool records:
- Bonita Vista 2-1, Scripps Ranch 2-1, Valhalla 1-2, Southwest El Centro 1-2
- Granite Hills 3-0, Otay Ranch 2-1, Steele Canyon 1-2, Southwest 0-3
- Santana 3-0, West Hills 2-1, Calexico 1-2, Montgomery 0-3
- El Capitan 3-0, Clairemont 1-1, Hilltop 1-1, San Diego 0-3
