The San Diego Section held its inaugural girls softball all-star game June 8 at UC San Diego. It was an event that was in the making for some time, and the time proved right this year.
The format was similar to the existing baseball all-star game sponsored by the Padres. That is, East versus West, plus a home run derby.
Metro Conference student-athletes comprised chunks of both teams with participation from Hilltop, Mar Vista and Chula Vista high schools on the West team and Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Otay Ranch and Mater Dei Catholic contributing players to the East team.
Overall, 10 Metro student-athletes were selected to play in the inaugural game.
The event was well received and hotly contested with the West team winning by a narrow score of 7-6.
Division I champion Otay Ranch (24-8 overall, 5-1 in Mesa League) had two players participate: seniors Alexa Munoz and Isabel Vinulan.
Munoz finished 6-0 in the pitching circle with a 0.242 earned-run average and 98 strikeouts in 127.1 innings while Vinulan batted 0.258 with 14 RBI in 31 game appearances.
Bonita Vista, which advanced through three rounds in the Division I playoffs, also had two players selected: seniors Makayla Veglia and Alani Keeran.
Veglia hit 0.359 with 26 RBI, 13 runs scored, 11 doubles and six home runs while Keeran hit 0.282 with six doubles for the Lady Barons (16-13-1 overall, 4-2 in Mesa League).
Hilltop had two players participate: seniors Yazmin Clark and Mia Tejeda.
Clark finished 9-9 with a 2.25 earned-run average and 109 strikeouts in 152.1 innings while Tejeda hit 0.220 at the plate with 14 runs scored for the Lady Lancers (11-15-2, 4-3-1 in South Bay League).
Senior Ayana Shaw from Division I runner-up Mater Dei Catholic, Eastlake senior Abby Steffan, Mar Vista senior Gloria Rodriguez and Chula Vista senior Neveah Cartwright rounded out local participation.
Cartwright batted a torrid 0.518 with 18 runs scored, 13 RBI, nine doubles, two triples and one home run for Metro-Pacific League champion Chula Vista (17-10-1, 6-0 in league).
Shaw hit 0.458 with 32 runs scored, 29 RBI, five doubles, six triples and three home runs for Mater Dei Catholic (18-14, 3-3 in Mesa league).
Rodriguez hit 0.352 with 22 runs scored, 11 RBI and 11 doubles for South Bay League champion Mar Vista (16-8-2, 8-0 in league).
Steffan hit 0.321 with 11 runs scored, 14 RBI and three home runs for Eastlake (3-13-2, 0-6 in Mesa League).
A total of 47 players (24 on the West team and 23 on the East team) were chosen for the game — all seniors.
Rancho Bernardo’s Audree Mendoza won the home run derby while La Jolla’s Emma Cardenas delivered the game-winning RBI in the ninth inning to cap a wild comeback by the West team, which had trailed, 5-0, early in the game.
Going the distance
The Division I playoffs were crowded with four South County teams, with Otay Ranch receiving the No. 1 seed, Mater Dei Catholic receiving the No. 2 seed and Bonita Vista receiving the No. 3 seed. Additionally, Eastlake was seeded 12th in the bracket.
Otay Ranch captured the division title with four victories but had to overcome one loss to do so.
The Lady Mustangs defeated ninth-seeded Patrick Henry, 5-2, in the opening round of double-elimination play, then topped fourth-seeded Steele Canyon by a score of 11-1.
However, Otay Ranch ran into a temporary roadblock put up by fifth-seeded Cathedral Catholic following a 7-4 loss to the Lady Dons. The teams met again in the semifinals, with the Lady Mustangs winning, 6-3, to advance to the championship game, which proved to be an all-Metro Conference pairing against Mater Dei Catholic after the Lady Crusaders blasted sixth-seeded Mission Hills, 12-0, on their side of the bracket.
Cathedral Catholic opened the tournament with a 12-2 win over Eastlake to advance from the single-elimination round.
Bonita Vista lost its opening game, 9-4, to Mission Hills, then edged seventh-seeded Rancho Buena Vista, 12-11, in an early double-elimination game. But the Lady Barons could not continue their momentum following an 8-2 loss to Mission Hills to exit the tournament.
Four players each had two RBI for Bonita Vista in the playoff win over RBV: freshmen Lelani Wilson, Leah Letuli and Ariana Magdaleno and Veglia.
Mater Dei Catholic had much more luck in topping RBV, 9-8, in its first game and throttling Mission Hills, 12-4, in its second game before shutting out the Lady Grizzlies to advance to the championship game.
Otay Ranch edged Mater Dei Catholic, 4-3, to win the division title. Junior Nat Lozano led the Lady Mustangs with two RBI, including a home run, while junior Emily Alvarado and senior Isa Vinulan also drove in runs.
Sophomore Kaylin Phillips had three hits in the game while Lozano scored two runs. Junior Isabel Cintron and Phillips also scored runs.
Munoz gave up 12 hits to the Lady Crusaders but struck out five batters to record the complete game victory.
Junior Vivi Vargas had six RBI in the win over Steele Canyon while sophomore Itzel Soto had two RBI in the 6-3 win over Cathedral Catholic.
Otay Ranch qualified as the No. 1 seed for the Southern California Division III regionals, advancing to the championship game following a first-round bye and 11-3 win over fourth-seeded Carson in the semifinals. But the Lady Mustangs’ softball odyssey ended with a 7-0 loss to second-seeded Carson in the final round.
Sophomore Ariele Torres and Vargas (two doubles) each led Otay Ranch with two RBI in the win over Carson. Vargas and sophomore Abby Solis each scored two runs in the game. Munoz went the distance by scattering eight hits.
Mar Vista received the No. 10 seed in the Division II playoff field while Olympian (15-14-1, 6-2-1 in South Bay League) was seeded 11th.
Seventh-seeded Our Lady of Peace eliminated Mar Vista, 7-2, while sixth-seeded Ramona eliminated Olympian by a 4-1 score, with both games in the opening single-elimination round.
Bayfront Charter (18-6, 6-0 in Summit League) received the No. 5 seed in the Division III field but was upset, 10-8, in the single-elimination round by 12th-seeded Escondido Charter.
The Chula Vista Lady Spartans received the No. 3 seed in the Division IV bracket while Montgomery (8-14, 1-5 in Metro-Pacific League) received the No. 11 seed.
Chula Vista lost its opening game in double-elimination play, 9-3, to sixth-seeded Foothills Christian, but remained in contention with an ensuing 8-3 elimination game victory against second-seeded San Diego Lady Cavers. But the Lady Spartans drew a rematch with Foothills, ending their season with a 6-1 loss.
Foothills Christian defeated Montgomery, 19-2, in the single-elimination round.
Three local teams received seeds in the Division V bracket: No. 2 Castle Park, No. 5 Chula Vista Learning Community Charter and No. 11 Ocean View Christian Academy.
Castle Park (18-11, 4-2 in Metro-Pacific League) advanced through four rounds, finishing with lopsided wins over 10th-seeded Guajome Park Academy (15-5) and sixth-seeded Hoover (20-8) and double losses to third-seeded Coastal Academy (28-8 and 15-13).
CVLCC (12-11-1, 7-1 in Patriot League) advanced through four rounds with wins over 12th-seeded Bonsall (18-17) and fourth-seeded Lincoln (27-15) and losses to top-seeded Liberty Charter (20-6) and eighth-seeded Francis Parker (19-1).
Hoover stopped Ocean View, 23-12, in the opening single-elimination round. The Lady Patriots finished the season 13-3, 10-1 in Patriot League.
San Diego Section 2023 High School All-Star Night
June 8 at UC San Diego
West Squad
Yazmin Clark, Hilltop 12
Payton Correia, Clairemont 12
Paige Wilson, Carlsbad 12
Emmy Cardenas, La Jolla 12
Destiny Garcia, Mira Mesa 12
Emma Tolley, Carlsbad 12
Audrey Bergan, La Jolla Country Day 12
Gloria Rodriguez, Mar Vista 12
Lilly Lai, Westview 12
Janae Combs, RBV 12
Elise Nishimura, Carlsbad 12
Sydney Silao, Clairemont 12
Lanikai Breskin, Clairemont 12
Aiyana Curry, Mira Mesa 12
Emily Qintero, El Camino 12
Zara Wasserman, San Marcos 12
Alexa Lazur, La Costa Canyon 12
Maria Lambson, Torrey Pines 12
Aubrey Ortiz, Mission Hills 12
Jamison Watts, La Costa Canyon 12
Mia Tajeda, Hilltop 12
Athalia Lopez, Sage Creek 12
Nevaeh Cartwright, Chula Vista 12
Ariel Adicoff, Mission Vista 12
East Squad
Kayla Vaughn, Rancho Bernardo 12
Alexa Munoz, Otay Ranch 12
Navaeh Haywood, Ramona 12
Madison Hulse, Rancho Bernardo 12
Miah Garcia, Poway 12
Taylinn Warren, Santana 12
Keely Gousha, Rancho Bernardo 12
Jazmin Williams, Steele Canyon 12
Makayla Veglia, Bonita Vista 12
Cadyn Ruffner, Valhalla 12
Abby Steffan, Eastlake 12
Audree Mendoza, Rancho Bernardo 12
Ava Gall, El Capitan 12
Eris Marley, Morse 12
Alani Keeran, Bonita Vista 12
Ayana Shaw, Mater Dei Catholic 12
Kethry Schreiber, Ramona 12
Isabel Vinulan, Otay Ranch 12
Hailey Burns, Poway 12
Autumn Zusman, Poway 12
Jenna Haynal ,Granite Hills 12
Angel Riggins, Helix 12
Italia Abrencia, Del Norte 12
Metro Conference
2023 Softball Standings
Metro-Mesa League
League/Overall
Otay Ranch 5-1, 24-8
Bonita Vista 4-2, 16-13-1
Mater Dei Catholic 3-3, 18-14
Eastlake 0-6, 3-13-2
Metro-South Bay League
League/Overall
Mar Vista 8-0, 16-8-2
Olympian 5-2-1, 14-14-1
Hilltop 4-3-1, 11-15-2
Sweetwater 1-7, 2-17
San Ysidro 1-8, 6-16
Metro-Pacific League
League/Overall
Chula Vista 6-0, 17-10-1
Castle Park 4-2, 18-11
Southwest 1-5, 5-15
Montgomery 1-5, 8-14
