KING CITY — As the temperatures continued to rise into the mid 90s, King City sophomore pitcher Alizah Carrillo stayed cool as a cucumber for the No. 4 seeded Mustangs en route to an 11-4 win against No. 2 South San Francisco High in the Central Coast Section Division V softball finals at San Jose City College on May 31.
The Mustangs’ young star hurler surrendered four earned runs on nine hits while tallying seven strikeouts in seven innings, and finished with a pair of hits and scored twice to help secure the first-ever section title in the program’s history.
“It’s so special to me,” Carrillo said. “I played with my sister last year and just to know that I got to this spot because of her help, it makes me so happy.”
Carrillo was fortunate enough to play one season with her older sister, Malaya, right before she graduated in 2024. However, their short stint together ended in a painful loss to Leigh in the D-V quarterfinals, leaving a sting on both siblings.
One year later, the youngest of the two Carrillos went on a mission with high hopes of redeeming the painful postseason defeat. Alizah came through with a title run she’ll never forget.
“We all had good chemistry this year, and even last year,” Carrillo said. “And to know our two role models who played with us last year came to support us made the rest of the team just bond together.”
Last week’s appearance in the D-V finals was also a first for the Mustangs’ softball program, and it was the first CCS title in any girls sport since the basketball team did it in 1992.
“It’s big for South County,” said King City head coach Art Carrillo. “The girls ended up showing up. Alizah pitched a really good game, and we had a pretty good group of seniors this year that kind of led this whole charge.”
“I think a lot of people kind of just, not doubted, but I think wasn’t expecting us to be here in this situation right now,” he added. “I’m happy for the girls, I’m happy for the community and I’m glad that King City is here to support us.”
Alizah Carrillo was immediately rushed by her teammates after freshman third baseman Crystal Paramo tagged South San Francisco’s Keira Crutchfield for the final out of the game. Art Carrillo got on one knee and proceeded to punch the ground in celebration before he hugged his daughter, Alizah.
“I think they’re riding on momentum, and they’re just riding on each other,” Art Carrillo said. “For the most part, these girls kind of leaned on each other as support and us just guiding them along the way.”
In last week’s finals, Alizah Carrillo got into a small hole by allowing a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Yet, there was no sense of panic as she continued to deliver consistently on the backdoor curve and the wonky screwball pitches as the game progressed.
“I feel like our top of the lineup just gets jitters being the first [at-bats], like we have to do the job and send it down,” she said.
Once they settled down, the Mustangs’ offense had a productive day at the plate with 14 total base hits that led to a pair of five-run innings.
It began with Janesa Lopez’s two-run triple in the third frame. Teammate senior Ralyie Moore, who finished with three hits and two runs scored, added an RBI single that gave King City the lead at 5-2.
In the sixth, senior Amity Hearne crushed the ball for a two-run double, while Paramo’s RBI double extended the margin at 11-3. Junior Kaylin Arvizu finished with two hits and scored one run for King City, while teammate sophomore Katia Slama contributed an RBI single.
Sophomore center fielder Avery Munoz finished with a pair of hits, including one double, one RBI and scored a pair of runs for the Mustangs. She also made the highlight reel after hauling in an incredible diving catch with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth.
“It was kind of instinct,” Munoz said. “Bases loaded and we’re in the bottom of the sixth, I gotta lay out. I gotta make that catch.”
It was those type of game-changing moments that led King City on this year’s CCS title run.
Munoz mentioned how they began to gain momentum following an 8-6 win against Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division champion Pacific Grove in the teams’ league contest on April 10.
“I felt like they were a little more competitive than these teams, and we stuck in there with [Pacific Grove],” Munoz said.
King City—third-place finishers in the PCAL Mission Division—bulldozed its way through the D-V bracket starting with a 9-3 win over No. 5 Sequoia in the quarterfinals on May 24. The Mustangs followed up with a dominating performance in the semifinals after a 16-0 crushing victory against top-seeded Independence at Hollister High on May 27.
The season continues for King City on Tuesday after it earned the No. 3 seed in the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Division V championships. They will host No. 6 Torres of Madera, which competes in the Central Section’s North Yosemite League. First pitch is scheduled for 4pm.
Munoz said playoff fever is hotter than ever on campus.
“Around school, teachers have been asking us if we’re going to make it to the championship,” she said. “It’s just nice to have all of our community support. This moment is awesome for me, it’s so big to have the whole team out here backing me up.”
