The Metro Conference has served up its share of softball dynasties in the past, Mater Dei Catholic and Bonita Vista being prolific ones to remember.
Mater Dei Catholic posted San Diego Section Division IV championships from 2010 to 2013 following a runner-up finish in the division in 2002 (as Marian Catholic). The Lady Crusaders graduated to the Division II level, winning the title in 2014, and continued to move up to the Open Division while winning championships in 2019 and 2021.
The level of excellence has since continued with a Division I championship in 2022 and runner-up finish in 2023.
Bonita Vista’s dynastic run included a Division II championship in 2012 sandwiched around runner-up finishes in 2011 and 2013.
The Otay Ranch Lady Mustangs now appear to be the latest standard-bearers after collecting their fourth consecutive CIF title following a cliffhanging 4-3 win over the Steele Canyon Lady Cougars on May 24 at UC San Diego.
Otay Ranch has beaten the best to do so, in fact.
The Lady Mustangs rose to prominence by capturing the Division II championship in 2021 and the Open Division title in 2022 as an encore. Otay Ranch has remained at the top with the last two Division I championships.
For Metro Conference bragging rights, the Lady Mustangs defeated the Lady Crusaders, 4-3, for the 2023 Division I banner.
Whoa!
Golden moments
The 2024 softball season wrapped up last weekend with Southern California regional state championship games.
Otay Ranch (20-12) won the Division III regional title with a 7-3 decision over the Imperial Lady Tigers, the Division II section champion, in an all-San Diego Section match-up.
Metro-Mesa League champion Mater Dei Catholic (29-6) placed runner-up to Etiwanda by a 5-4 score in the Division II regional championship game despite a spirited rally in the final two innings to erase a 5-0 deficit.
Along the way, there were some genuine memories made:
- Chula Vista Learning Community Charter claimed its first CIF championship by winning the Division V-AA title with a 4-1 decision over fourth-seeded St. Joseph Academy. After finishing fourth in the Summit League standings, the second-seeded Lady Cobras (10-14) went undefeated in postseason play with wins over seventh-seeded Warner (21-2), third-seeded Julian (14-1 and 14-2) and lastly St. Joseph Academy (5-15).
CVLCC junior BiBi Delgadillo went three-for-three with a single and two doubles. Junior Ashley Vallejo, freshman Mona Lisa Delgadillo, freshman Alana Olivas and sophomore Monserrat Rodriguez each reached base safely to start the game as the Lady Cobras took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
CVLCC tacked on two more runs in the third inning as Vallejo (two-for-four) and BiBi Delgadillo each doubled.
- Eastlake, the fourth-place finisher in the Metro-Mesa League, steered a course for a runner-up finish in the Division II finals following an 11-2 loss to top-seeded Imperial (29-4-1). The second-seeded Lady Titans (21-12) played five rounds in the double-elimination bracket, including three games against City Eastern League champion Christian (24-8-1), winning two of them — 7-2 and 7-4 — sandwiched around a 5-2 loss.
Eastlake faced off the playoffs with a 5-0 win over 10th-seeded Mt. Carmel as juniors Ryan Pham and Jaelene Jenkins each collected two RBI and sophomore Addison Suriano pitched a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts.
- Castle Park, which finished third in the Metro-Pacific League standings, capped a 13-17 season with a second-place finish to top-seeded Francis Parker (22-4) following a 10-2 setback. The third-seeded Lady Trojans advanced to the division championship game with double-elimination victories over seventh-seeded Lincoln (17-12) and second-seeded El Cajon Valley (4-3) after dropping an initial 13-3 contest to ECV in the second round.
- Metro-Mesa League champion Mater Dei Catholic advanced to the semifinal round of the Open Division playoffs following 1-0 and 3-0 losses to second-seeded Del Norte in double-elimination play. The Lady Crusaders qualified for the state playoffs, advancing to the Division II championship game.
Four-peat, Mustang-style
Otay Ranch advanced to the Division I section final with three consecutive playoff wins: 9-5 over sixth-seeded Mission Hills, 6-4 over seventh-seeded Patrick Henry and 6-4 over Mission Hills in a double-elimination contest.
Junior Kaylin Phillips (home run), senior Natalay Lozano (triple) and senior Isabel Cintron (triple) each had two RBI in the win over Mission Hills while Lozano (home run) and junior Melania Contreras each collected two RBI in the win over Patrick Henry. Sophomore Victoria Resendez (seven innings, two earned runs) and Phillips (4.1 scoreless innings) each recorded wins in the pitching circle.
In the rematch against Mission Hills, senior Anaya Camacho (home run) and Lozano (double) each amassed three RBI while Resendez (four earned runs, three strikeouts) picked up the win.
The Lady Mustangs’ finals opponent, the Steele Canyon Lady Cougars, had to play an extra two games to make it to the championship round.
Fourth-seeded Steele Canyon lost, 8-7, in nine innings to fifth-seeded Carlsbad in its opening playoff game that dropped the Rancho San Diego team to the elimination bracket. The Lady Cougars rebounded with a 3-0 win over eighth-seeded Rancho Buena Vista to remain in contention, however, in the double-elimination format.
The win over RBV advanced Steele Canyon to a rematch against Carlsbad following the Lady Lancers’ 8-0 loss to top-seeded Granite Hills. The Lady Cougars clawed the Lady Lancers, 8-0, to get a crack at the top-seeded Lady Eagles.
It turned out to be two cracks at Granite Hills after Steele Canyon won the opening game by a score of 2-1 to force a double-elimination game. The ladies of Steele won the second game even more convincingly by a score of 12-4 to earn a berth in the division championship game.
After dispatching top-seeded Granite Hills, Steele Canyon met Otay Ranch, the third-place finisher in the Metro-Mesa League standings, in the winner-take-all Division I championship game.
The Lady Mustangs received a double and two RBI from sophomore Kalina Sangalang and one double and one RBI each from seniors Lozano and Viviana Vargas. Juniors Itzel Soto and Phillips each stroked a double for Otay Ranch.
Sophomore Victoria Resendez held the Lady Cougars in check with three hits in five innings, allowing three runs, two earned, and recording five strikeouts while Phillips pitched two innings with one hit and no runs.
Sophomore Marina Gonzalez pitched six innings with five hits, four earned runs and four strikeouts for Steele Canyon. Senior Makea Seunarine had one double and one RBI while junior captain Hailey Trujillo and sophomore Dannika Lakin each had one RBI.
State champions
The regional championship tournament encompasses three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship round. The higher-seeded team hosts each round.
Otay Ranch earned the No. 1 seed among the eight teams in the Division III tier and defeated eighth-seeded Liberty (22-8) by a 5-4 score in the opening round before topping fourth-seeded Bakersfield Christian, 10-1, in the semifinals.
Sangalang and junior Ariele Torres (double) each picked up two RBI in the regional opener while Lozano scored two runs. Resendez (five innings, one earned run) and Phillips (two innings, four strikeouts) shared duties in the pitching circle.
The Lady Mustangs scored 10 runs on 13 hits in eliminating Bakersfield Christian (28-2). Junior Ava Vinluan knocked in three runs while Lozano had two RBI. Phillips scored three runs while Torres and Soto each scored twice. Camacho and Soto each slammed a triple.
Resendez (three innings, five strikeouts) and Phillips (four innings, eight strikeouts) once again shared pitching duties as the duo combined to fan 13 batters and allow just four hits.
Imperial (29-4-1) eliminated second-seeded Steele Canyon, 8-4, in eight innings in the regional semifinals to advance to meet the Lady Mustangs for the state title.
Otay Ranch didn’t waste the golden opportunity to become golden girls. Lozano (home run) and Vargas each drove in two runs, Soto had three hits and senior Isabel Cintron (double) scored two runs in support of Resendez and Phillips, who combined to scatter five hits and allow one earned run.
Notable
Despite winning section and state championship titles, Otay Ranch started the 2024 spring season with a 1-6 record and was 2-8 before embarking on a nine-game winning streak. The Lady Mustangs finished their season of plenty with seven consecutive playoff wins.
Sangalang topped Otay Ranch with a 0.368 hitting average in 61 plate appearances with 13 runs scored, 11 RBI and three doubles. Lozano hit 0.361 in 31 games with 25 runs scored and 32 RBI, 11 doubles and six home runs.
Resendez struck out 59 batters in 96.1 innings while Phillips logged 44 strikeouts in 71.1 innings.
Lady Crusaders come up short for Division II state championship
Mater Dei Catholic High School’s softball team is no stranger to collecting championship banners of just about every kind. But this year’s Southern California Division II regional championship somehow eluded the reigning Metro-Mesa League champion Lady Crusaders.
Top-seeded Mater Dei Catholic, this year’s San Diego Section Open Division semifinalist, pounced on eighth-seeded Birmingham and fifth-seeded King by scores of 9-2 and 12-2 to face off regional play. However, a 5-4 loss to third-seeded Etiwanda on Saturday shut the door on the season at 29-6.
Etiwanda rode a five-run third inning explosion before the Lady Crusaders livened up the game with two runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings to fall just short. The hosts had the trying run on base when the game ended.
“We have a young team, so 29-6 is an amazing run,” said longtime mentor Mike Centrullo, who co-coaches the team with his wife Liz. “We only have two seniors. This team has a bright future ahead.
“We made some untimely errors in this game. We should have made some adjustments earlier. But the kids have no quit in them. They showed character and grit. They never stopped punching.”
Sophomore Gigi Flores keyed the Lady Crusaders with two RBI while junior Lilian Alpuche had two hits. Sophomore Bella Harris, Alpuche, junior Bella Hiner and senior Michaella Salvatierra each scored runs.
Junior Analesse Garcia (14-3, 1.58 ERA) pitched seven innings and allowed eight hits and two earned runs. She helped her own cause with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Lady Crusaders opened the regional playoffs with a 9-2 win over Birmingham behind an 11-hit attrack. Alpuche, Harris and Flores each rapped out two hits while Flores had two RBI. Salvatierra (two stolen bases), freshman Anabelle Gallagher and freshman Maya Mathies (former Chula Vista American Little League all-star) each scored twice.
Garcia (4.2 innings, two earned runs) and freshman Arri Romero (2.1 innings, no hits) handled the pitching duties.
A 12-2 semifinal win over King followed as Mathies went three-for-four with a double and four RBI, senior Michelle Cervantes had three hits, including a double, and collected two RBI and freshman Charlize “Chuck” Masingale had two RBI.
Freshman Arri Romero pitched six innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs.
Parade of Chamoions
Mater Dei Catholic’s Outfield Ring of Honor
Photos by Phillip Brents
