East County softball: 3-out-of-4 ain’t bad

By Adam Paul
Updated: March 16, 2026

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP SOFTBALL

By Adam Paul

LAKESIDE (3-16-26) – Strong pitching and a four run sixth inning lead to a 6-0 victory by the El Capitan Vaqueros on Monday afternoon over the visiting Del Norte Nighthawks in tournament action.

Leading 2-0 the Vaqueros in the bottom of the sixth inning would put the game away thanks to Ciara Bernardini who drove in a run and Kylee Frazier who singled in three runs to round out the scoring.

Prior to the big sixth inning the Vaqueros behind Addison Higuera would take an early lead as she drove in a run. They would add another run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Quinnley Morehouse.

Frazier would lead the offense for the Vaqueros as she tallied a 3-for-4 day at the plate and other contributors included Higuera and Cassidy Sterling who both had multiple hits in the contest.

Burton in the circle earned the win as she went all seven innings in which she allowed no runs on six hits while walking one and striking out four.

With the win the Vaqueros move to 7-3 overall and continue their winning ways as they extend their winning streak to three games in a row.

Next up for El Capitan is a road trip on St. Patricks Day against a ranked foe in Escondido Charter who is 7-2 on the season.

SANTANA 6, SOUTHWEST EL CENTRO 5 – Five runs scored over the fifth and sixth innings lead to a late rally by the Sultans as they pulled out the come from behind home victory on Monday afternoon in non-league action.

Trailing by a score of 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning the Santana Sultans would steal complete momentum of the game when Paityn Miller smashed a two out three run blast over the center field fence to give them what would end up being the lead for good.

Early on the Sultans would score the first run of the game on a tag up from third by Samantha Mora to make it 1-0.

However, Southwest El Centro would take advantage of a dropped third strike along with an RBI single and a line out that led to another run to give them a 3-1 lead.

They would add to their lead in the top of the fifth on a two run home run to left field which made it 5-1.

Besides the three run blast by Miller the Sultans would receive a two out single by Kaitlyn Ruckle that led to Shannon Davey scoring.

Ashlyn Darrow who started for the Sultans earned the victory. On the day she surrendered fice runs (two earned) on six hits over seven innings in which she walked three and struck out five.

Miller who belted what would end up the game winning home run went 2-for-3 at the plate including the home run,

With the win the Sultans improve to 4-6 on the season and will next take on La Costa Canyon on the road on Tuesday.

HELIX 7, MAR VISTA 1 – Nine hits by the Helix Highlanders leads to the convincing win over the visiting Mariners on Monday afternoon.

Nikayla Domingo in the bottom of the first inning would single down the left field line leading to a run scoring, Naleia Medina singled to center field, and Ella Aguayo doubled, each led to runs scored and a 3-0 lead.

Medina would extend the lead a couple of innings later thanks to drawing a walk which led to a run scoring and a 4-1 lead.

Pitching wise for the Highlanders, Vivie Munoz tossed a complete game in which she allowed one run on five hits while walking two and striking out three to earn the victory.

Offensively for Helix both Medina and Amara Okafor each drove in a pair of runs while Aguayo led with three hits in four opportunities. Domingo tallied a pair of hits for the Highlanders.

Helix moves to 9-1 on the season with the victory and will next travel to Ramona to take on the Bulldogs on Wednesday the 18th.

EASTLAKE 4, CHRISTIAN 0 – Monday afternoon just wasn’t a day for the visiting Christian Patriots as the home team Eastlake Titans took advantage of four Patriot miscues and dominant pitching in keeping the Patriot bats hitless in a tournament victory.