Cougars Pounce All Over Carlsbad

By Adam Paul
Updated: May 18, 2024

2024 EAST COUNTY PREP SOFTBALL

By Adam Paul

DIVISION I

SPRING VALLEY – Seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning spurred the 10-0 victory in six innings by No. 4 Steele Canyon over No. 5 Carlsbad on Saturday morning.

On the day the Steele Canyon Cougars pounded out 16 hits in which five players tallied multiple hits and six drove in runs in the conclusive victory.

Danika Lakin was one of those players who accomplished both feats. She tallied a 3-for-4 day at the plate that included a pair of doubles and a single to go along with three runs driven in and a run scored.

The Cougars would jump out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to Tevia Cohen who drove in a pair and Makenzie Myers who doubled in a run.

Later in the bottom of the sixth inning, the bats came alive again as Myers drove in a run, Kamea Seunarine drove in a run, Lauren Becker drove in a run, and Lakin doubled in a pair to finish things off which promptly ended the contest.

Marina Gonzalez would earn the win for Steele Canyon. She would allow two hits and zero runs over six innings in which she walked four and struck out two.

The win by the Cougars pushes their home winning streak to five games and overall winning streak to two games and keeps them alive as they advance. They will now move on to take on league foe and top-seeded Granite Hills in the semi-finals on Tuesday, May 21st to be played at Granite Hills and scheduled for a 3:30 PM start time.

Steele Canyon with the win moves their record to 20-7-1 and wins their 20th game for the first time since 2017 when they finished 26-12-1 and were CIF DIVISION II Runner-Ups. The loss also eliminates Carlsbad.

If you do plan on attending the semi-finals on Tuesday at Granite Hills you will have to purchase tickets as from now on tickets are required.

You may purchase tickets at

https://gofan.co/event/1528139?schoolId=CIFSD

Prices are as follows

General Admission: $10.00, Students and Seniors are $7.00 plus additional fees.

Mission Hills 3, Patrick Henry 0

SAN MARCOS – Strong pitching by No. 6 Mission Hills dooms No. 7 Patrick Henry as they prevail 3-0 on Saturday morning.

The lone hit for Patrick Henry off of Grizzlies starter Abby Huhn came in with two outs in the top of the fourth inning when McKenna Gieger roped a double to left field.

Huhn who would earn the win struck out eleven over seven innings in which she only walked one.

Zoe Rutherford who was tagged with the loss went six innings in which she allowed three runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out seven.

Patrick Henry with the loss finishes their season at 17-14 and is eliminated from the playoffs.

DIVISION II

EL CAJON – In a contest that came down to the wire on Saturday, No. 3 Christian would win in dramatic fashion thanks to Lucy Sherburne drove in the game-winning run to give them a 6-5 walk-off victory over No.11 Mar Vista to stave off elimination.

Trailing 1-0 the Christian Patriots would tie the game in the bottom of the second as Kayleigh Martin drove in a run.

However, Mar Vista would again retake the lead as they scored three runs in the top of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead thanks to a three-run home run.

Despite giving up the lead the Patriots didn’t fret as they came alive thanks to Kaitlyn Moody driving in a run to make it 4-2 and Keels Carrizosa dealing the big blow as she belted a three-run blast to left field to give them a 5-4 lead.

The Mariners would come right back and tie the game in the top of the fifth on a walk to Breanna Wilson which allowed a run to score.

A couple of innings later in the bottom of the seventh inning, a one-out double by Tyler Krustek would set up the final finish as Sherburne hit a hard-hit ball to center field allowing the speedy Krystek to race around third and safely score the game-winner which brought everyone to their feet.

Sienna Staite started for the Patriots but wouldn’t factor in the decision. On the day she went four innings in which she allowed four runs on five hits while striking out two. Ava Barrios who came into the game in relief would pick up the win her sixteenth of the season as she allowed one run on one hits over three innings in which she walked five and struck out seven.

The win by Christian not only extends their home winning streak to a lucky 13 in a row but also moves their record to 23-7-1 which is their best record since 2017 when they last won a Division III CIF Championship and finished 26-9-1. The loss by Mar Vista officially eliminates them from the playoffs.

Christian will now travel back to Chula Vista where they will take on No. 2 Eastlake who beat them 7-2 the other day.

If you do plan on attending the semi-finals on Tuesday at Granite Hills you will have to purchase tickets as from now on tickets are required.

You may purchase tickets at

https://gofan.co/event/1528126?schoolId=CIFSD

Prices are as follows

General Admission: $10.00, Students and Seniors are $7.00 plus additional fees

DIVISION III

POINT LOMA – A wild finish in the bottom of the eighth led to a run scored and a 2-1 victory by No. 2 Point Loma over No. 7 Grossmont in an elimination game Saturday morning.

Grossmont would get on the board first with a run in the top of the fourth inning thanks to Carleigh Wenck who drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to make it 1-0.

Point Loma would answer back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 1-1.

With both pitching staffs strong and not giving anything up the game would head into extra innings.

Moving to the bottom of the eighth inning the Pointers would finally break through with a lead-off double followed by a single which advanced the lead runner to third base. After a first pitch ball a wild pitch by Saraya Roope occurred and the runner would come home for the game-winning run.

Roope who took the hard-luck loss would go all seven innings in which she allowed two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out four.

Both Roope and Nakhia Lee who also scored a run each would lead the hitting attack for the Foothillers with two hits each on the day.

The loss by Grossmont officially ends their season as they finished 12-14-2 overall.