The Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills softball team celebrates after 3-2 win vs state No. 1 and top seed Del Oro of Loomis on Saturday in CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 final. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills wins its third straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 softball championship with a 3-2 triumph on Saturday over Del Oro of Loomis. That is the same Del Oro that was sitting at No. 1 in the state and was looking to complete its season with a 32-1 record and a NorCal D1 championship. Instead, it will be Norco of the CIF Southern Section moving back to the top spot in the state and the Cougars also finished up a big win in the CIFSS D1 semifinals on the same afternoon as the Oak Ridge-Del Oro contest.
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All three of the top ranked softball teams in the state were playing at the same time later on Saturday afternoon so it was like bonus coverage for some who could watch the game in front of them and follow updates for the other game on social media.
State No. 1 Del Oro of Loomis and No. 3 Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills met in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 championship at Sacramento State’s Shea Stadium. The teams had split in two earlier matchups, but Del Oro had to be ranked higher for winning in the second game and because Oak Ridge had three other losses on the season.
Meanwhile down south at Ayala High in Chino Hills, state No. 2 Norco was playing the No. 8 host Bulldogs in a CIF Southern Section D1 semifinal. That game began approximately 30 minutes earlier than Del Oro vs Oak Ridge.
Carly Short and Carmen Montes de Oca are two of the top seniors at Oak Ridge and they will both be playing next at N.C. State. No roommate search for the dorms will be required. Photo: Mark Tennis.
When the games were over, Oak Ridge had pinned a 3-2 triumph over the Golden Eagles. Norco fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, but had the lead by the third and coasted to a 6-1 victory. The full new State TOP 25 Rankings will be done by next Tuesday morning, but there will be a new No. 1 with Norco going back on top and Oak Ridge moving up to No. 2.
Colleagues Eric-Paul Johnson of the Riverside Press-Enterprise and James Escarcega of the SGV Whittier Prep Sports Zone were among those on hand for the Norco win so we would encourage users to check out their full game stories. The Oak Ridge win was witnessed in person by Cal-Hi Sports and more details/breakdowns follow below.
Oak Ridge, which also had to come from behind to win in its SJS semifinal game over Tracy, played during the week like a bunch of battle-hardened girls who went all the way to last year’s CIF NorCal D1 championship game that ended in a heart-breaking 13-11 loss in nine innings to Amador Valley of Pleasanton. The Trojans trailed Del Oro 1-0 entering the sixth inning, grabbed a 3-1 lead and then in the bottom of the inning survived a bases-loaded with no outs situation after the Golden Eagles had scored to make it 3-2.
“This is so special because both the D1 and D2 championships were (Sierra Foothill League) showdowns,” said Oak Ridge head coach Sam Toy, whose team also captured its third straight section title and brought up reminders of when the section was dominated similarly in the 2000s and 2010s by the program at Sheldon of Sacramento when it was coached by the legendary Mary Jo Truesdale. “I wouldn’t want it against any other team.
“Last year, we fought tooth and nail until the last game,” Toy continued. “Losing like that has lit a fire under us. We haven’t forgotten, but we’ve been working at it one game at a time.”
The first three innings of the game showcased the elite pitching of Oak Ridge’s Ellison Schroeder and Del Oro’s Mikayla Finn. After Finn set down the Trojans in the top of the fourth, the Golden Eagles plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the inning. That came after a single to center by Abby Davidson, who stole second and scored on a two-out double by Avyn Brower. She went to third on a wild pitch but was stranded there on a fly ball.
Oak Ridge started its big inning with an infield single by Molly Railey, who was sacrificed on a bunt to second and then there was walk drawn by Brooklyn Paratore. A blooper just over the head of the second baseman that dropped in for a single by Carmen Montes De Oca then loaded the bases with one out. That brought up Emery Glaser, who ripped a liner toward deep left field. It appeared catchable but the drive went over the head of the left fielder for a two-run double. A short fly ball couldn’t get another run home, but Montes De Oca scored from third on a wild pitch. Finn then got a strikeout to end the inning.
Del Oro also wasted no time in getting a potential big rally going in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Caelyn Campos was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored the team’s second run of the game on a RBI single by Chloe Champas. An infield hit and a walk then loaded the bases and still there was no outs. The next two batters, however, both hit hard grounders that the Oak Ridge infield fielded cleanly and threw to home plate for force outs. Ellison got the next batter on a pop up and the threat was over.
Hugs were all around for Oak Ridge players and coaches in the immediate aftermath of their section title game win vs Del Oro. Photo: Mark Tennis.
“In those tense moments, I had no doubts they could make those plays,” Toy said. “I’m really proud of our senior class with three straight titles. They came in to lead the program. That was not a heavy burden for these seniors.”
For Del Oro’s last chance in the bottom of the seventh, Avery Enyart battled Ellison for a long at-bat and drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Campos came through with another single that put the tying runner on second and winning run at first. Champas also came through on her next at bat with a fly ball to left that glanced off the fielder’s glove making a diving attempt (not an error). It wasn’t that deep of a drive, however, and the possible tying run got held up in between third and home. The end result was Oak Ridge throwing out its third runner at the plate during the game. The final out of the game was grounder to second base.
“Honestly, they’re the champs and in key moments they played like the champs,” said Del Oro head coach Sean Erickson. “We both got runners on and they basically got the key hit and we didn’t. I have a ton of respect for that team. My gosh three in a row? They’re the champs and must be beaten and it just didn’t happen.”
Senior Carly Short of Oak Ridge, one of the top infielders in the state who completed one of those force out throws at home plate in the bottom of the sixth, also talked about the competition playing Del Oro.
“They are an amazing team and that’s what we want in this kind of championship game,” said Short, who has signed with North Carolina State (along with Montes de Oca, the catcher, and yes they are going to be roommates). “We actually wouldn’t want to come out here and win 10-0. There’s just no drama in that.”
Both teams will now take a week off and wait until next Sunday to see about where they will be seeded in the eight-team CIF NorCal D1 regional championships. Based on all the rankings (including computers), Oak Ridge would have a chance at being seeded first. Both Short and Toy know from last year, however, that a top seed can mean nothing since top seed St. Francis of Mountain View lost in the first round of the regional playoffs to the same Amador Valley team (that had double-digit losses) that would later beat Oak Ridge in the title game.
That NorCal D1 bracket also could include SJS D4 champion Destiny Christian of Sacramento, which has a forfeit win over Oak Ridge based on a scheduled game that was not played. Destiny won its section title game earlier on Saturday at Sac State, 4-0, over Pioneer of Woodland. While the SJS does not have competitive equity seeding, the CIF does so it doesn’t matter which section division that Destiny Christian won to be seeded for the NorCal playoffs. It can be D1 and most in the media also covering the games on Saturday know that is likely going to be in D1 as well.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
