SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: Area Softball Preview
A look at the teams that are in the playoffs and how they'll matchup in the first round.
Let's take a look at Divisions 1-5 and see how they match up from an area point of view.
DIVISION 1
Area Teams: La Serna (20-5), South Hills (20-2-1), Bonita (18-9), La Mirada (18-7)
Wild Card Matchups: Gahr at La Serna, Corona/Centennial at South Hills, Bonita at Garden Grove Pacifica
First Round Note: La Mirada will play the winner of Bonita/GG Pacifica on Thursday
Notes of Interest: La Mirada was seeded 7th, GG Pacifica was seeded 10th
Matchups:
La Serna’s Kyli Hernandez (Escarcega)
Gahr at La Serna: Terrific first-round game with the winner advancing to play Norco on Thursday. If you've been keeping track of our softball coverage this year, you know how much respect we have for La Serna. It bears repeating that the top third of their lineup (Sarah Perez, Sabrina Ritto, and Fabriola Serna) are as good as it gets in the area from an offensive perspective, throw in power-hitting Elissa Guerrero and you have a team that is about explosive as you will see. Olivia Torres has been solid in the circle this year and freshman Julianna Franco will be the next great pitcher for Jason Clay.
Natalia Hill, Gahr is a Nebraska commit
Gahr started the season ranked 4th in the Press-Telegram rankings, but it's been an up-and-down season for the Gladiators. They entered last week ranked 10th in the area after lopsided losses to La Mirada (7-1, 10-2). Don't mistake yourself, this is a quality team. The headliner is junior Natalia Hill, a junior utility player that has committed to play at Nebraska. Her older sister Jazmine Hill is a current starter at Arizona State University.
Senior Hailey Sanchez is one of the veterans on the team that is a terrific athlete. She is a three-sport star in volleyball, basketball, and softball. The common team here is California. La Serna took 2 of the 3 games from the Condors while Gahr finished in a 6-6 tie on March 8 that was stopped due to darkness.
I will be at this game, and it should be one of the more exciting games on the schedule. However, let's advance La Serna to the first round with a close win over Gahr.
The Pick: La Serna
Audrey Gallegos, South Hills (Escarcega)
Corona Centennial at South Hills: One of several rematches that will be taking place in the softball playoffs within the section, with this one being a slugfest, with the game ending in a 12-12 tie. It didn't appear that way early as the Huskies (the road team in the game), jumped out a 9-1 lead after the third inning and led 12-5 going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
However, the Corona Centennial got after relief pitcher Parker Milton by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the sixth and tied the game at 12-12. After much reluctance by the South Hills coaching staff, the game was called due to darkness.
That won't be the case this time and you can be sure that the South Hills is licking their chops for the rematch. Ever since that game, the Huskies have posted an impressive 17-1 record, with their only loss coming to Los Alamitos. With players like Joie Economides, Kayla Sigala, Audrey Gallegos, and more, you can be sure that getting 21 outs is going to be a tough deal for Centennial.
Jada Lewis, Corona Centennial, an Arizona State commit.
The player that will garner a lot of attention for South Hills is Centennial sophomore Leata Sherlin, who hit two home runs and drove in four runs. Centennial also got huge performances from junior Jada Lewis (an Arizona State commit) and Sierra Humphreys, who contributed three hits.
Home field advantage means everything here and that is one of the main reasons why we like South Hills in this situation. The team has been sitting on that tie to Centennial and has a chance to correct a wrong and move on to the first round.
The Pick: South Hills
Bonita’s Alyssa Doucette (Escarcega)
Bonita at Garden Grove Pacifica: It was a season for the ages last year when the Bearcats won a CIF Southern Section title, but this year has been a bit of a struggle. The Bearcats have experienced many ups and downs which has been a point of concern for coach Daren Baumauch. The latter part of the season has been a huge source of frustration with narrow losses to Ayala. But they do have one of the top pitchers in the area in Brooklyn Shroyer, a Fairleigh Dickinson signee, and top underclass hitters Alyssa Doucette (.425 batting average) and Audrey Garcia (.370 batting average).
One thing to keep in mind when you start breaking down Garden Grove Pacifica, they started the season as the number one team in Orange County by Dan Albano of the Orange County Register. That's right, higher than Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach. It has also been a tough season for Pacifica, making the playoffs as an at-large team from the Crestview League.
Pacifica’s Kaniya Bragg is a UCLA commit. (Twitter)
The players that have garnered a lot of attention this year are juniors Kaniya Bragg and Brynne Nally. Bragg, a UCLA commit, has a hefty .380 batting average while Nally, a Long Beach State commit, has made 17 appearances this season and has compiled a 1.83 ERA.
Dan Albano observed that Pacifica has "found its best strides" and that is not the music that Bonita fans want to hear when it comes to a game of this magnitude.
The pick: Garden Grove Pacifica.
DIVISION 2
Area Teams: California (19-7-2), Arcadia (20-5), Ayala (18-1-1), Glendora (13-8), Temple City (18-2), Whittier Christian (21-4)
Wild Card Matchups: No Wild Card Games
First-Round Note: Possible Second-Round games: Ayala vs. Arcadia, Glendora vs. Temple City
Notes of Interest: Ayala was seeded fourth in the division.
California’s Mia Martinez (Escarcega)
Matchups: California at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame: We've called the Condors our longshot pick to win this division back in March and nothing has swayed our opinion. Remember, this team defeated Esperanza earlier this season. The Condors are on a nine-game winning streak and Pricilla Ramirez is one of the main reasons. She's been very dominant in the circle for the Condors, which included a huge 4-2 win over La Serna on April 13th, in which she limited the Lancers to five hits and struck out six. When you have that going for you, along with the improving offensive production from Amaya Vasquez and Shirley Avecedo to go along with Mia Martinez and Ashley Hernandez (a Boise State Commit), you can understand why this team is capable of making a big run. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is led by Oklahoma-bound power hitter Ella Parker, who is batting .644 with 13 home runs. Notre Dame is ranked fourth in the latest LA Daily News softball rankings but was not ranked in the final coaches poll top-10.
The pick: California
Arcadia’s Sophia Herrera (Escarcega)
Great Oak at Arcadia: Don't look now, but Arcadia is starting to find its best stride and that could be a valuable commodity in the playoffs. The Apaches are coming off a significant doubleheader sweep over Crescenta Valley to win a share of the Pacific League title. Tiara Westbrook is doing Tiara Westbrook things and Sophia Herrera has been a model of consistency in the circle. The biggest surprise of the year was the performance of catcher Giselle Lai and Lauren Chen. The challenge for the Apaches will not be an easy one. Great Oak was ranked ninth in Eric Paul Johnson's Press-Enterprise softball rankings, which says a lot about the talent on the team. What gives hope to Arcadia fans? Great Oak has early season losses to Diamond Ranch and Chino Hills.
The pick: Great Oak
St. Anthony at Ayala: Looking for St. Anthony in the Press-Telegram softball rankings, let me save you the trip, you won't find them. The Saints were the third place in the Del Rey, which had more questions than answers when you start talking about the quality of the league. Ayala has been a model of consistency this year and the player most responsible for that is pitcher Karson Zavala. The Wagner signee is 11-0 with an ERA of 0.87. Taelor Walker has been an offensive threat throughout the season. This shouldn't be a tough assignment for the Bulldogs.
The pick: Ayala
Bridget Nemeth, Glendora (Escarcega)
Glendora at Millikan: It's been a frustrating season for Glendora fans. The expectations for this team rose to levels that reached the absurd. But, they are finding their best strides to date with a huge win last week over Ayala. Penn State signee Bridget Nemeth has done everything she can to keep the ship from sinking this year. This might be too much for the Tartans to handle as Millikan from the powerful Moore League was seeded sixth in the division and third in the latest Press-Telegram rankings. Madison Wright, who entered last week with a batting average of .433, will be one of the players to watch for the Rams
The Pick: Millikan
Samantha Womack, Temple City (Escarcega)
Valley View at Temple City: After a bit of a slow start due to injuries and other distractions, Temple City has finally hit its best strides and that is not good news for the opposition. Kassandra Gewecke, an Ohio State commit, has been sharp in the circle for the back half of the season and Samantha Womack is doing her best imitation of Babe Ruth at the plate. Sheridan Gonzalez is making huge inroads at shortstop. Valley View comes from the powerful Southwestern League and was ranked right in EPJ's final softball rankings for the Inland Empire. This might be a little bit too much for the Rams to handle.
The pick: Valley View
West Torrance at Whittier Christian: Looking for a surprise team to make a run at the playoffs, look no further than Whittier Christian. Showing everyone that life moves on from the talented Brooklyn Carreon, the Heralds have won 20 games this year with a very young squad. They are led by shortstop Aleena Garcia, a UCLA commit with a team-leading batting average of .670, and pitcher Riley Laygo (.532 batting average and a record of 18-3 in the circle with an ERA of 2.24). Which should be enough to beat a West Torrance team that barely finished third in the Pioneer League. Look for Whittier Christian to take on second-seeded Rio Mesa in the next round. '
DIVISION 3
Area Teams: Charter Oak (14-6), Los Altos (12-10), Diamond Ranch (14-3), Bishop Amat (13-8); St. Paul (21-6)
Wild Card Matchups: Hemet vs Diamond Bar, Fountain Valley at Sonora, Beckman at La Canada
First-Round Note: St. Paul was seeded fourth in this division.
Matchups
Charter Oak at Aquinas: Charter Oak finished second in the Valle Vista League and drew the short straw to make the trip up to San Bernardino to take on an Aquinas team that has posted an impressive record of 26-2. Charter Oak doesn't release a lot of information about their team during the year, but regardless, this is a very tough task and we don't see an upset in the making here.
The pick: Aquinas
Los Altos’ Giselle Mejia (Escarcega)
Los Altos at Cerritos: Unlike our first matchup, we are putting Cerritos on upset alert. The Dons were the champs of the 605 League, but we're not impressed with the league nor the competition compared to Los Altos that comes out of the rough and tumble Hacienda League. The Conquerors caught the eye earlier this year when we saw them against South Hills and Arcadia. This is not your ordinary second-place team and they have one of the better shortstops in the area in Brianna Alejandre. This is a slam dunk upset as we've ever seen one.
The pick: Los Altos
Arlington at Diamond Ranch: Even though Arlington finished second in the Ivy League, they are nowhere to be found in Eric Paul Johnson's top-10 rankings (nor in the other considered category). Pitchers are valuable commodities in the playoffs and Diamond Ranch has one in Emily McCoskey who has done another solid job in the circle for the Panthers (ERA is 1.14). Just having her was enough to get "The Ranch" past everyone in the Valle Vista League. Let's face it though, the VVL didn't show its usual muscle as they do throughout the year Arlington does have a win over La Serna (3-2) on their resume, but they've also lost to Sonora (9-0). It's a tepid pick, but we've got the Panthers moving on.
The pick: Diamond Ranch
Bishop Amat at Western Christian: In most years, this is a slam dunk for the Lancers to move to the next round. However, with a new coach put in place just days before the season started, it has been anything but a quiet season for Amat. They have finished strong with a 4 game winning streak and a win over St. Paul, but we get the feeling that 2024 and 2025 will be the years that Amat will shine. Western Christian has not played anyone that we're familiar with. It appears as if they've taken the easy road to a 19-2 record. However, you do have to play the schedule that is in front of you, and for that reason alone, we've got WC moving on to the second round.
The pick: Western Christian
DIVISION 4
Area Teams: Alhambra (9-10), Santa Fe (15-12-1), Rio Hondo Prep (13-9), Arroyo (8-7), Flintridge Sacred Heart (17-3), Schurr (21-3)
Wild Card Matchups: None
First-Round Note: Schurr was seeded second in the division.
Schurr’s Emma Mendizabal. (Escarcega)
OVERVIEW: From here on out, we'll provide an overview of the division and who we think will make a deep run in the playoffs. From an area perspective, it's easy to see that Schurr should make a deep run in this division. They have one of the premier pitchers in Emma Mendizabal, who has been the "Iron Horse" for the Spartans in the circle. They would have an interesting battle against Flintridge Sacred Heart in the second round, but there is too much offense and too much pitching in Schurr's favor and it's the reason why we have them going to the final. Even though Santa Fe finished third in the Del Rio, look for them to cause some upsets and maybe make it to the semifinals where they would be matched up against Schurr. The Chiefs are dangerous here. It's tough envisioning Alhambra, Rio Hondo Prep, and Arroyo advancing past the first round.
DIVISION 5
Area teams: South El Monte (15-8), Duarte (17-5)
Wild Card Games: Apple Valley at Keppel; Covina at Barstow
First-Round Note: Covina was seeded ninth in the division.
Overview: If there ever was a time for Duarte to make another run in the playoffs, this is the year. They will play the winner of Southlands Christian vs St. Bonaventure in the first round and will have a home game. They made a big run in the playoffs last year and it is very easy to see them do that again in 2023. South El Monte ran amock in the Mission Valley, but the quality of the play has been a bit more interesting. With Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana within their 8-team pod, it's tough to envision the Eagles getting past the quarterfinals. Covina got stuck playing in a wild-card game and is also in an 8-team pod.