Vacaville, Vanden and Pioneer shared the Monticello Empire League softball championship before going their separate ways in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. The three teams were dispatched to different divisions, so the MEL had an opportunity to win three section championships in one sport.
What a statement that would have made for the league, which is often discounted like Christmas ornaments on Dec. 26. Adding three new schools in the Sac-Joaquin Section realignment did little to bolster the MEL’s image, especially with Sacramento having far fewer sports than other schools.
Few tears were shed when Fairfield and Armijo left the MEL last year because those schools were rarely competitive. Pioneer and River City were decent additions, but Sacramento did nothing for the MEL. The softball team forfeited its last five MEL games to go 0-12 – just like the baseball team.
Th championship races in those two sports were riveting. Pioneer and Rodriguez tied for first place in baseball at 9-3 with Pioneer going 2-0 against Rodriguez. Vacaville was third at 8-4. The three-way tie in softball came from each team splitting two games against each of the other two squads.
Any thought of two MEL softball teams meeting again in the playoffs vanished when the seedings were announced. Vanden and Pioneer were seeded No. 2 in Divisions III and IV, respectively. Vacaville received the No. 4 seed in Division II. Each team won two games to reach the semifinals Tuesday.
Vacaville spoiled the possibility of a MEL hat trick with a 6-5 loss in eight innings at No. 1 Rocklin. Sophomore pitcher Payton Prior survived the Bulldogs’ five-run outburst to improve to 20-3. Vacaville joined Del Oro as the only teams to score five earned runs against the right-hander this season.
Prior struck out 10 for her seventh double-digit game this season and reached 201 in 154 innings. She managed to prevent Vacaville’s Hayden Kyne from doing damage by walking the Notre Dame-bound senior three times. Kyne finished her final season with a .584 batting average and 42 RBI.
Rocklin will face crosstown rival Whitney in the Division II championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sacramento State.
Vanden beat No. 3 Ponderosa 13-5 and will play No. 1 Central Catholic for the Division III title at 4 p.m. Saturday at Cosumnes River College in Elk Grove. The Vikings (20-4) will bring their 16-game winning streak. The Raiders are 26-5 and pounded Vacaville 16-5 in a mercy rule victory April 26.
Each Vanden starter had at least one hit Tuesday and eight drove in at least one run. Senior Mariah Aguilling was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI. Niayli Calvo continued her sensational sophomore season and hiked her average to .719 by going 2-for-2 with a double, home run and two RBI.
Sophomore Stephanie Garcia tossed a four-hitter to improve to 15-4 for Central Catholic. Vanden will again rely on Isabella Cueva, who is 14-2 with a 1.50 ERA. The senior has allowed just one earned run in her past six starts. All five runs for Ponderosa were unearned as the Vikings made two errors.
In Division IV, Pioneer will face No. 1 Destiny Christian Academy of Sacramento at 10 a.m. at Sacramento State. Senior Jia Beebe allowed two runs on eight hits in the Patriots’ 8-2 victory over No. 6 East Union in the semifinals. Beebe (23-5) leads the state in victories and is one of six pitchers to reach 20 wins.
Two of Beebe’s losses came against the teams in the Division III final. She lost 3-2 against Central Catholic on March 26 and 8-1 against Vanden on April 9. She also lost 3-2 to Vacaville on April 23.
