SALINAS VALLEY — King City and Soledad high school softball teams reached the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division V Playoffs with wins in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The Mustangs are the No. 4 seed and began the playoffs with a 9-2 home victory over No. 5 seed Sequoia. The Aztecs earned the No. 3 seed and beat No. 6 seed Santa Clara in Soledad, 17-9.
In the game at King City on May 24, the Mustangs took an early lead and built up the momentum throughout the contest with Sequoia.
“We started off with two runs in the first inning and pretty much chipped away the whole game,” said King City head softball coach Artie Carrillo. “They (Sequoia) made a little run in the fifth inning with three runs. We sealed it at the end and got the win.”
King City’s Alizah Carrillo pitched seven innings to get the win, giving up five hits and three runs with six strikeouts. Carrillo contributed offensively with a single and a triple with two runs and two runs batted in.
Avery Munoz had a single and a double with two runs and two RBIs for the Mustangs, while teammates Amity Hearne contributed with two base hits, one RBI and two runs scored and Jocelyn Romero added two hits, one run and two RBIs.
“We play Independence High School on Tuesday (May 27) at 7 p.m. in Hollister,” Carrillo said. “They beat Greenfield, 12-5, on Saturday and they have a couple of players that are quick on the bases. Don’t know too much about them. All I know is my girls have to show up and get the job done. We hope for the best.”
On Tuesday, King City dominated Independence, winning the playoff game by a 16-0 score. They now advance to the division finals on Saturday at West Valley College or San Jose City College and could play either Soledad or South San Francisco.
At Soledad on Saturday, the Aztecs won their first-ever Central Coast Section playoff game by scoring 10 runs in the fifth and sixth innings after trailing 4-0 in the first inning and 9-7 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“I felt confident in our bats to execute on the offensive side,” said Soledad head softball coach Samantha Barrera. “We are playing well together, not getting emotional, and shaking off the little mistakes. I know it will come together on Wednesday like it did today.”
Santa Clara followed the five-run first inning with another run in the top of the first to lead by a 5-1 score. The Aztecs fought back with a run in the bottom of the second, and six runs in third to take the lead at 7-5. The third was highlighted by three base hits, including one by Delylah Ocampo that scored two runs.
After Santa Clara made a comeback to take the lead at 9-7, Soledad rallied and took the lead for good, taking advantage of a walk, an error that allowed two runs to score and a single by Maria Villarruel that scored another run. In the sixth inning, base runners reached base and scored on a double by Aliyah Velarde and a base hit by Ocampo scored another run.
Ocampo earned the win on the mound, pitching five innings with help from Kassandra Hernandez in the sixth inning.
On Wednesday, May 28, at 4 p.m., Soledad will play No. 2 seed South San Francisco at MacDonald High School in San Jose for the right to play in the finals against King City on Saturday.
“Apparently (South San Francisco) lost to Santa Clara so it’s looking good, but I will never make assumptions,” said Coach Barrera. “We still have to come out and play hard and take care of everything we need to be successful.”
Cypress Division champion Greenfield, the No. 8 seed, lost 12-5 at home on Saturday to the No. 1 seed Independence of San Jose.
“It was the second inning where we really fell behind as Independence took a 3-0 lead in the first inning and scored three more runs to take a 6-0 lead in the second inning,” said Greenfield head coach Norma Ornelas. “We sadly lost 12-5. Our defense wasn’t at its best, but overall it was a good game.”
The Bruins’ Yara Hernandez, Nathalie Soto and junior varsity player Lesly Sanchez, who was brought up for the playoffs, provided hits. Krystal Nunez and Brizea Rojas led Greenfield with three hits apiece.
