CIF softball: Orcutt Academy, Nipomo advance to semifinals
May 21—It was a mixed day for area teams in the CIF Central Section softball playoffs.
For Orcutt Academy, Friday was a wonderful day.
The Spartans eased past Corcoran, winning 7-1 at home and advancing to the CIF Central Section Division 6 semifinals.
The Spartans, who are seeded 10th, will play at Ocean League rival No. 6 Nipomo in the semifinals on Wednesday. Nipomo beat No. 3 Parlier 10-1 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Orcutt Academy scored six times in the fifth inning to boost past Corcoran, the No. 15 seed. The Spartans started the playoffs with an 8-5 win over No. 7 Laton on Wednesday.
On Friday, senior Danica Black threw a complete game for Orcutt Academy, allowing five hits, with one earned run and seven strikeouts.
Nani De La Cruz went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run.
Valerie Zepeda had a hit and two runs while M Salinas drove in a pair of runs as the Spartans won on their home field at Lakeview Jr. High.
Zepeda had a double.
Savannah Adame, Reign Barretto and Cathy Sibley each had RBIs.
Division 2
No. 5 Madera 4, No. 4 St. Joseph 2
St. Joseph's 20-win season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the playoffs as Madera scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to down the Knights.
St. Joseph had four hits to Madera's three, but the Knights committed five errors as the Coyotes committed two.
Liszette Carlos went 2-for-3 with a run at the plate for the Knights and Danielle Pirnat had the Knights' other two hits and drove in a run.
Freshman Taylor Mediano was strong, throwing all seven innings while striking out five and allowing the three hits. Only one of the four runs allowed was earned.
Madera's rally came with back-to-back infield errors by the Knights to start the sixth inning. Erika Perez then laced a double to center field to drive in a run. Neveah Galvan then singled and Brianah Hamilton then hit a ground ball to second that was mis-played for another error to put the Coyotes up 3-2. There was yet another infield error on Kailea Ricks' ground ball and then a fourth run came in on another ground ball where the Knights got one out at second.
Madera is now 20-10 on the season. It went 10-0 in the CMAC Conference in the Valley. The Knights finished up 20-8.
No. 11 Kingsburg 4, No. 3 Arroyo Grande 2
Arroyo Grande was stunned by Kingsburg in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The Eagles scored twice in the second but didn't score again as the Vikings tied the game with two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
Arroyo Grande was limited to three hits against freshman Alyana Gonzales, who struck out nine in a complete game win. Senior Chantel Diaz drove in two runs for the Vikings and sophomore Rylee Jones drove in two more. Jones went 2-for-4 with a run and two doubles.
Savannah Bravo, Kelsy Rodriguez and Delayna Quezada each had one hit for Arroyo Grande, which finishes the season with a 16-11-1 record. They finished second in the Mountain League with an 11-4 mark.
Kingsburg is now 17-12. The Vikings went 8-2 in the Central Sequoia League. They'll play at No. 7 Fresno Bullard in the semifinals.
Division 4
Pioneer Valley 8, Shafter 8 (12 Inn.)
In a four-hour game, the Panthers edged the Generals after 12 innings in Friday's CIF Central Section Division 4 quarterfinal.
This was after Pioneer Valley held an 8-4 lead to start the bottom of the 11th. Pioneer Valley also led 4-2 at the start of the bottom of the ninth, but the Generals came back to tie it then, too.
Ciena Acosta threw 197 pitches. Precious Zeledon had five hits, two RBIs and a run.
Mila Dolores scored twice and drove in two more runs. Rianna Dulay had three RBIs.
Acosta struck out 13 batters and walked 10, giving up five hits and three earned runs. Jazmyn Molina pitched two innings an struck out one. They faced 56 batters in the win.
