The young Camarillo High softball team earned a taste of postseason success on Thursday, May 14.
Sophomore Khloie Hartman and freshman Haley Juell had extra-base hits in a fifth-inning rally as host Camarillo edged visiting South Hills, 4-3, in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.
“They never gave up,” Camarillo coach Nichole Pinedo said. “They kept fighting.”
After Hartman’s RBI triple scored Marlirose Demate to tie the game, Juell’s RBI double drove in the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“They started off strong in the first inning and did a great job laying off the riseball spin,” Pinedo said. “They had some really quality at-bats.”
Hartman was 2 for 4 with a double and a triple. Jayden Claycamp pitched 2.2 innings of shutout relief, striking out six, to earn the win.
Camarillo will host Huntington Beach on Monday in the second round.
Division 1
Oaks Christian 8, Chaminade 1: Sophia Debs was 4 for 4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs and also struck out 13, allowing just one run and four hits, in the circle.
“Sophia Debs was lights out,” said Oaks Christian coach Cheyenne Coyle.
Terianna Kelly was 2 for 4 with three runs scored and Janessa Gutierrez hit a two-run home run for Oaks Christian (26-3), which will host Sherman Oaks-Notre Dame in Saturday’s second round.
Westlake 10, Paraclete 9: Liv Tirsh’s RBI single plated Lily Barrett with the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh as the Warriors survived losing a 9-2 lead in Lancaster.
Isla Ange hit her third grand slam of the season in the first inning and Baylee Brown slugged a three-run home run in the second inning as Westlake built a 9-2 lead in the fourth inning.
But the Warriors’ day was complicated by pitcher Presley Watters being struck in the knee with a comebacker. Emma Tedder earned the save in relief.
Westlake (21-6-1) will host Etiwanda in Saturday’s second round.
Etiwanda 14, Agoura 13 (8 inn.): The Chargers scored four runs in the sixth and another in the seven to force extra innings, but Mia Diaz’s RBI single lifted host Etiwanda to a walkoff win in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Jordy Charash was 3 for 6 with four runs scored and Aurelia Ehry, Chaden Chatelain and Emilia Liversidge slugged home runs for Agoura (18-10).
Division 2
Simi Valley 3, Alta Loma 1: Allison Hinds hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and Parker Ong threw a complete game, allowing one run on eight hits, to lift the Pioneers to their first playoff win since 2023.
Simi Valley (19-7-2) will host Santa Fe Springs-St. Paul in Saturday’s second round.
Moorpark 5, Long Beach Poly 1: Kiley Finnerty threw five shutout innings as the Musketeers won on the road.
Payton Holliday was 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a run scored, Allison Pugliese was 2 for 4 and Brooke Toledo scored two runs for Moorpark (12-8), which will visit Lakewood-St. Joseph in Saturday’s second round.
“Payton had couple really hard-hit balls,” said Moorpark coach Bill Finnerty. “Everybody kind of chipped in.”
Downey-Warren 8, Thousand Oaks 1: Visiting Warren broke open a scoreless game with a six-run top of the sixth inning to eliminate the Lancers.
Madison Jauregi was 2 for 3 with a triple and a run scored and Olivia LePage had an RBI single for Thousand Oaks (18-11).
“We just couldn’t push the runs across the plate,” said Thousand Oaks coach Heather Spohr. “They’re a really talented team.”
Division 4
St. Bonaventure 11, Valencia 4: Leesa Martinez was 2 for 4 with two runs scored, Maria Castor and Delilah Ramirez were both 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Hudson Ortiz drove in three as the defending Division 5 champion Seraphs scored the first 10 runs.
“This was a better start for us,” said St. Bonaventure coach Andy Gibson.
St. Bonaventure (18-6-1) will visit Harvard-Westlake in Saturday’s second round.
Rio Mesa 9, Santa Ana-Segerstrom 6: Analia Lopez and Keira Barry homered as the host Spartans came from behind twice to advance.
Down 6-5, Rio Mesa answered with a four-run bottom of the sixth, featuring Jazlynn Gonzalez’s two-run triple and Lopez’s two-run blast.
“We bounced back,” said Rio Mesa coach Daniel Lerma. “I had a lot of confidence in these girls.”
Lopez went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, Barry was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Gonzalez and Sophia Roman also had two hits for Rio Mesa (14-12), which won for the seventh time in eight games.
Rio Mesa will host Mission Viejo in Saturday’s second round.
Oxnard 14, Pasadena Poly 0: The host Yellowjackets piled up 13 hits, including five for extra bases, in a run-rule shortened five-inning win.
Kayla Lorona was 3 for 3 with three runs scored, Rachel Godoy went 2 for 3 with two doubles two RBIs and two runs scored, Destinee Herrera and Alexis Haros had two hits apiece, and Cassandra Lopez hit a two-run home run.
Oxnard will host Apple Valley in Saturday’s second round.
Paramount 5, Newbury Park 4: Quinn Reynolds, Grace Martinez and Keira Ramirez singled in the Panthers’ four-run third inning, but host Paramount recovered from a 4-1 deficit to advance.
Newbury Park’s season ends at 15-13.
Division 5
Santa Clara 6, Jurupa Hills 3: Kadyn Sanchez threw a complete game, striking out 12, and slugged a solo home run as the Saints snapped a five-game playoff losing streak.
Sophia Castorena went 2 for 4 with a solo home run, Sophia Romero was 2 for 4 with a run scored, Ilani Rios was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs, and Emily Mondragon was 2 for 4 with an RBI for Santa Clara (14-7), which will face either Anaheim or Flintridge-Sacred Heart in Saturday’s second round.
Division 6
El Monte 11, Santa Paula 10: Host El Monte scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to foil the Cardinals’ potential comeback victory.
Santa Paula trailed 6-1 after three and 8-6 entering the seven inning, but took a 10-8 lead with a four-run seventh inning.
Clarissa Sebastian was 2 for 3 with a home run, Maylise Maynard was 2 for 3 with two doubles and Anayah Davis had two hits for Santa Paula (13-10).
Division 8
San Bernardino 16, Channel Islands 9: Making their postseason debut, the Raiders fell on the road in the first round.
Joe Curley covers softball for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Youthful Camarillo softball delivers clutch CIF-SS playoff rally
Reporting by Joe Curley, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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