Etiwanda vs. Mater Dei

Etiwanda, ranked No. 3 in California by CalHiSports.com, entered its second round showdown against No. 16 Santa Ana Mater Dei with a team that had combined for 65 home runs and team batting average of .480, but the Monarchs were unfazed by those gaudy statistics.

Southern Oregon-bound Gabby Sandoval allowed three hits, two walks, one hit batter and struck out two get the complete game win and Loyola Marymount-commit Maddie Flores drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth to help Mater Dei (25-7) knock off the top-seeded Eagles (29-3) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs on Tuesday at Thornton Park in Santa Ana, Calif.

"I told the girls all the things we have done this preseason has prepared us for today," said Mater Dei coach Tia Meza, whose team needed to win a third-place playoff game against Fullerton Rosary Academy after finishing tied for third place in the Trinity League to get into the playoffs."

Meza believes the Monarchs' rugged schedule, which included runnerup finishes at the Tournament of Champion in Bullhead City, Ariz., the Best of the West Tournament at La Palma Kennedy High and the Alan Dugard Classic at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, got them prepared for the postseason.

"We have been in big games and this is our time," said Meza, the Gatorade National Player of the Year for Mater Dei in 2000. "It was a huge team effort. Gabby did a great job keeping the ball down and our defense made some great plays. I knew that our offense was going to put pressure on them and come through."

Sandoval was able to hold Oklahoma-bound Vanessa Taukeiaho, a leading candidate for Ms. Softball State Player of the Year with 20 home runs and a .640 batting average, hitless in three at bats.

"We knew coming into the game they were a powerful team and I knew I had to execute my pitches," Sandoval said. "My defense had my back the entire game and we played together as a team."

Etiwanda took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth, but Mater Dei came right back and tied it, 1-1, in the bottom of the fifth. Freshman Nyomi Jones singled, took second on Notre Dame-commit Emma Clark's ground out and scored on College of Charleston-bound Yaritza Felix's single.

The Monarchs took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Hannah Wessel singled and scored on Flores' triple. Flores got thrown out at the plate on the play, but Mater Dei didn't need any insurance.

"It was a good game all the way through," Flores said. "Hannah did a good job getting on with a single. When I went up to bat, I was just focusing on a pitch I could drive. The pitch I hit was middle-in and I roped it over the left fielder's head. I thought I had a home run, but they did a really good job on the relay and got me out at home. But it didn't matter because the go-ahead run already scored." 

The Monarchs are scheduled to face Temecula Great Oak in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Thornton Park, but Meza said she is trying to move the game to Friday because Mater Dei has graduation mass on Thursday.

"We've played a tough schedule all year, and being in the Trinity League gets us ready for CIF," Flores said. "I think we've played the toughest schedule in Southern California and we have made it to the championship game every tournament we've been in. So we are battle-tested, for sure."

In other Top 20 games:

No. 1 Orange Lutheran 12, Cypress 2: South Carolina-bound Mackenzie Boesel hit a grand slam and a two-run home run and Stanford-commit Maddy Dwyer picked up her 24th win as the second-seeded Lancers (28-3) to take care of the Centurions (20-9) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

No. 2 Los Alamitos 7, Chino 2: Maryland-commit Ryan Denhart allowed seven hits, two runs, no walks and struck out six to get the complete game for the third-seeded Griffins (25-2), who play host to Vista Murrieta in the quarterfinals on Thursday, in a victory overthe Cowboys (15-11) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

No. 4 La Habra 8, Redlands East Valley 4: Cal State Fullerton-committed Janelle Rodriguez belted a two-run home run in the second to give the top-seeded Highlanders (28-1) an early lead and they went on to eliminate the Wildcats (17-7) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. La Habra plays host to Oxnard Rio Mesa in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

No. 5 Grand Terrace 7, San Clemente 0: Oklahoma-bound Melanie Olmos and Grand Canyon-commit Yesenia Morrison combined on a two-hit shutout and Alyssa Graham went 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBI to lift the top-seeded Titans (25-1) over the Tritons (13-11-1) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs. Grand Terrace is at Chino Don Lugo in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

See the entire FAB 50 High School National Rankings

No. 6 Mission Viejo 6, Riverside Poly 1: Oregon State-commit Camryn Ybarra went 2 for 4 with two homers, giving her four home runs in two playoff games, Arizona State-commit Terra McGowan and Olivia Viggiano had three hits apiece and Louisville-commit Kyra Snyder got the complete game win and went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBI as the second-seeded Diablos advanced in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. Mission Viejo (24-4) will be at defending champion Yucaipa in the quaretrfinals on Thursday in a rematch of last year's Division 2 final.

No. 8 Norco 3, Rancho Santa Margarita 0: Naomi Hernandez went 2 for 3 with two RBI and Cal State Fullerton-commit Taylor Dockins tossed a two-hitter with one walk and 10 strikeouts to lead the fourth-seeded Cougars (25-5) past the Eagles (17-11) the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

No. 9 Sacramento Sheldon 9, Modesto Gregori 0: Taliyah Miles threw a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts, UC Santa Barbara-commit Maci Fines had two hits, including a double, Etiwanda, ranked No. 3 in California by CalHiSports.com, entered its second round showdown against No. 16 Santa Ana Mater Dei with a team that had combined for 65 home runs and team batting average of .480, but the Monarchs were unfazed by those gaudy statistics.

No. 10 Westlake Village Oaks Christian 6, Camarillo 1: Kayla Ketring went 3 for 4 with a double, two RBI and a couple of stellar defensive plays in center field to help the third-seeded Lions (29-1-1), ranked No. 10 in the state, defeat the Scorpions (20-7-1). Oaks Christian, ranked No. 10 in the state, is at Aliso Niguel in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

No. 11 Moreno Valley Valley View 7, Santa Maria Righetti 3: St. Mary's-commit Eileen Perez struck out 13 to get the complete game win for the fourth-seeded Eagles (26-1), who extended their winning streak to 23 games. Valley View plays at West Covina South Hills in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

No. 12 Pleasanton Amador Valley vs. TBA: The top-seeded Dons (20-4) had a bye in the first round of the CIF North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs and play the winner of today's Brentwood Liberty-Concord Clayton Valley Charter game in the quarterfinals.

No. 13 Martinez Alhambra vs. TBA: The top-seeded Bulldogs (21-2) had a bye in the first round of the CIF North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs and play the winner of Tuesday's Concord-Alameda game in the quarterfinals.

Chula Vista Mater Dei Catholic 3, No. 14 San Diego Cathedral Catholic 1: The Crusaders (21-8) upset the Dons (25-4-1) in the third round of the CIF San Diego Section Open Division loser's bracket and eliminated them from the playoffs.

Temecula Great Oak 4, No. 15 Huntington Beach 1: Serena Quinata and Autumn Storms hit solo homers and Berta Nejo had a two-run blast as the Wolfpack (17-6) knocked off the Oilers (21-7) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Storms, an Arkansas signee, also allowed two hits, no earned runs and struck out four to get the complete game win for Great Oak.

Valencia of Valencia 6, No. 17 Garden Grove Pacifica 0: Tennessee-committed catcher Ally Shipman went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBI and Texas-commit Shea O'Leary tossed a four-hitter with one walk and 10 strikeouts to help the Vikings (21-9) eliminate the Mariners (20-6) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

Ceres 5, No. 18 Oakdale 3: Callie Nunes struck out 17 and Washington-bound Nicole Bates hit two homers as the Bulldogs (21-4) sent the second-seeded Mustangs (21-2) to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 loser's bracket with the upset on Monday evening.

Benicia 3, No. 19 Manteca East Union 2: Taylor Martin went 3 for 3 with two RBI, Olivia Mackley went 2 for 3 with an RBI and the Panthers (21-5) picked up a run in the bottom of the seventh to send the Lancers (22-1) into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section loser's bracket with a quarterfinal win on Monday.

No. 20 Pleasanton Foothill vs. Dublin: The second-seeded Falcons (18-3) play host to the Gaels (9-13) in the first round of the CIF North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs on Wednesday.

Written by Carlos Arias