MAY 15, 2025
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
Five of the area’s eight softball teams enter the CIF-Southern Section divisional playoffs with Gahr High and Valley Christian High trying to repeat as champions. Cerritos High and La Mirada High are seeking just to get out of the first round while Norwalk High wants to at least even its overall record. First round games were played on May 15 with second round games scheduled for Saturday.
DIVISION 1
Paraclete High (24-2-1) @ La Mirada (23-4)-For the seventh time since 2017, La Mirada won at least 20 games, but the Matadores have been eliminated after one playoff game in each of the past two seasons, first by Pacifica High, 6-5 in eight innings, then by JSerra High last season, 3-2. The four losses this season have come to Millikan High and Norco High in consecutive games on Mar. 1 and twice to Orange Lutheran High. Norco is the top-ranked team in the division while Orange Lutheran is #3.
The starting lineup for the Matadores is one of the best the program has seen, starting with senior shortstop Amanda Urbina leading off, to the sophomore twin sisters Reese and Riley Hilliard, the first baseman and catcher, respectively, all the way to junior right fielder Bettie Mae Acevedo or sophomore right fielder Megan Avila at the bottom of the lineup.
But it’s the pitching tandem of senior Montserrat Reyes-Cardenas, the veteran who will leave La Mirada as one of the program’s best pitchers and up and coming sophomore star Alison Ortega. The former went 13-2 in the regular season while the latter won 10 games. The Matadores had a stretch of 15 straight wins from Mar. 7-Apr. 19.
Because of the new system in which divisions and brackets were put together, this a rare first round matchup of league champions with the Matadores winning all eight Gateway League games and Paraclete calling itself co-Del Rey League champs with Bishop Amat High with 10-2 marks.
The Spirits tied Apple Valley High 5-5 in the season opener, then reeled off 13 straight wins before falling to St. Joseph High 10-9, a team they had slammed 22-3 just five days earlier. Paraclete is currently on a six-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents by nearly 200 runs this season.
The winner will play either Fullerton High or Roosevelt High in the second round. La Mirada posted a 4-0 win over Fullerton on Mar. 13 in the first game played at Jennie Finch Field, the new digs for the Matadores.
DIVISION 2
Gahr (13-12-2) @ JSerra (15-13)-Gahr may be the defending Division 2 champions, but this season has been completely different from the 19-10 campaign it had in 2024. The Gladiators have flirted with the .500 mark all season, never winning more than three straight games nor lose more than three straight contests. They enter the postseason 6-2-1 in their last nine games.
The second place representatives from the Gateway League are paced by the future of the program as freshman shortstop Hazel Anglo batted .342 and led the team with 27 hits while freshman third baseman Megan Wong, the leadoff hitter, has a .298 average and 25 hits. Senior catcher Mya Laroya leads the team with a .408 average in 20 games played with 20 hits and 14 RBI while sophomore pitcher Isabelle Gonzalez went 10-6 in the circle with 133 strikeouts.
JSerra is in as an at-large representative from the Trinity League as the Lions finished in fourth place and won three of nine league contests. They won five of their first six games of the season but later lost five straight games.
The winner will play either Sonora High or Villa Prak High in the second round.
DIVISION 3
Don Lugo High (16-5) @ Valley Christian (15-6-1)-After winning the Division 5 championship last season, the Defenders move up two divisions and come into the playoffs as champions of the Olympic League following a 14-1 win over league nemesis Whittier Christian High on May. 1. V.C. won its first seven games of the season and at one point was 10-2.
The team can put up a lot of runs as it has scored at least 11 runs in 13 games, including a stretch of five straight games late in the season. The Defenders are swinging the bats as hot as any team can and has a .378 average. Sophomore right fielder Tallulah Ireland leads the pack with a .463 average, 25 hits, 23 runs, 14 runs batted in, followed by junior center fielder Choyce Chambers (.443, 37 runs, 31 hits, 18 RBI, junior second baseman Aubrielle Ramirez (.414 average) and six other players with a batting average of at least .339.
In the circle, sophomore Rachel Zhang has followed her brilliant freshman season with a 13-3 record and 76 strikeouts.
Don Lugo won the Mt. Baldy League with a 12-3 mark and has won 11 of the past 13 games. This is another rare matchup of league champions in the first round. The scoreboard could malfunction as the Conquistadors have scored in double digits a dozen times and have a team batting average of close to .350 with four players over .400. If that’s not bad enough for Zhang, Jade Curiel leads the Q’s with 16 of the team’s 40 home runs.
The winner will play either Arlington High or Woodbridge High in the second round.
DIVISION 5
Mira Costa High (8-18) @ #3 Cerritos (14-6)-The more things change, the more they stay the same. The change came when Michelle Steck took over as the program’s third head coach in the past six seasons, but the Dons continued their dominance in the 605 League. Six full seasons of the league’s existence and six league titles, plus the last two of the former Suburban League is what Cerritos has on its resume. On top of that, the Dons have a lifetime 58-2 record in 605 League action.
But the Dons have not played a second round playoff game since 2021 when that team advanced to the quarterfinals. Sophomore first baseman Zoe Corrales leads Cerritos with a .424 average and 35 hits while senior third baseman Alianna Calderon batted .370 with 27 hits and 22 runs scored. Senior pitcher and infielder Michelle Meza is also a dangerous hitter (.406, 26 hits, 15 RBI, 13 runs) and has worked over 47 innings in the circle, sporting a 4-3 record. Junior Ava Ceron has nine wins in 12 decisions including consecutive 10-0 wins over Oxford Academy and Artesia High to conclude the regular season.
Mira Costa may not have a desirable record, but the Mustangs finished in third place in the Pioneer League by virtue of a 7-5 win over Peninsula High last Wednesday in a third place tiebreaker game. Mira Costa and Peninsula each went 3-5 in league and both are under .500.
A third of the wins came within the first four games of the season before the Mustangs went on a 12-game losing streak.
The winner will play either Rancho Verde High or Valencia High in the second round.
DIVISION 6
Norwalk (12-13-1) @ Jurupa Valley High (12-10)-If Norwalk had finished below third place in the Mid-Cities League, it would not be in the playoffs. But the Lancers finished in second place, losing two games to league champion Warren High. The Lancers have reached the playoffs five straight seasons, getting to the quarterfinals in 2022 and falling in the second round last season.
The Lancers lost eight of their first 11 games and have yet to get above .500 and have played in 10 games when scoring at least 10 runs while playing in 10 games in which they have allowed at least 10 runs. So, which Norwalk team will show up against the third place team from the River Valley League?
Senior catcher Jezrael Acosta, juniors Jazmin Jimenez and Nayeli Sanchez and freshmen Giselle Albidrez and Alyssa Hurst are the offensive stars while Hurst and junior Mariah Favela have split time in the circle.
Jurupa Valley finished in third place in its league but went 2-5 in non-league contests. The Jaguars began the season losing four of their first six games before going on a 7-2 stretch.
The winner will play either Adelanto High or #3 Pioneer High in the second round.
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