SOFTBALL Gonzalez dominates in second shutout of season as Gahr’s youth bests Cerritos

March 23, 2026

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

Gahr High’s softball team may have 10 returning players and of those, half are either seniors or juniors. Cerritos High has eight seniors on its team, but only three are returning from a 17-7 season and a trip to the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 semifinals under Michelle Steck’s first season as the head coach for the Dons.

This season, both teams have a combined 18 freshmen and sophomores, and when they met for the 15^th time since 1998, it was the youth of the host Gladiators that got the better of the Dons in a 10-0 victory that ended with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

“Cerritos has always been a city that brings in some pretty good talent,” said Gahr head coach Rey Sanchez. “We’ve been fortunate to get some very talented players who come through our program and I know Cerritos…you look at Cerritos over the last 15 years; they’ve had some really good players come out of that school also.

“They are definitely young, but I think after talking to Michelle, she was telling me she has some young kids who are very committed and some nice players to work with,” he continued. “But I’m happy we can both benefit from some youth talent, which is always important to add and sprinkle in with some of the older kids that you have.”

While Gahr (7-5) snapped a two-game losing streak in which it was outscored 20-6, it has been rough going for Cerritos, which dropped to 2-5 and has been outscored 29-7 in its last three games.

“It’s challenging for different reasons,” said Steck of this season. “Last year, it was just trying to get them to buy in to what [assistant] coach Keith [Schwecke] and I were trying to bring to Cerritos. This year, it’s more of trying to find leadership within our own team; to kind of help step up and help guide our younger girls.”

Gahr junior pitcher Isabella Gonzalez was perfect in the top of the first and third innings, throwing a combined 24 pitches. But in the second inning, she walked freshman first baseman Adelyn Archie, who would immediately be picked off by freshman catcher Rylee Jackson. Gonzalez then walked freshman third baseman Alexis Ceron and gave up a single to freshman Daphne Linsangan before striking out the next two batters to avoid further damage.

In the fourth with one out, Archie singled but was thrown out again by Jackson as she attempted to steal second. Gonzalez then walked Ceron before Linsangan grounded out to end that mini threat. In the next inning, junior right fielder Zoe Corrales reached on an error to become the fourth and final Cerritos player to reach base.

Ironically, it was the middle of the batting order, all freshmen, who got on base. But the veteran Gonzalez was too much for the Dons as she threw 84 pitches, struck out eight batters and walked three in her second shutout of the season.

“She was good today,” said Sanchez. “A few too many walks, I think. She had three walks, and we talked about attacking them before the game. I’m not going to say it was her best outing, but it was a typical strong outing by Bella. She’s had some games this year where she’s been super sharp. Today, she did what she needed to do, and she competed and put us in a good spot.”

“It doesn’t matter; I’ll ride my freshmen no matter what,” said Steck. “Who we play…they’re great players. All the girls are great on our team. Today, some of them might not have been seen that well. Last game, you could look at the lineup and maybe [senior] Ava [Ceron] was getting on a ton [of pitching]. It just varies from game to game and day to day. That’s what’s beautiful about softball.”

Meanwhile, Gahr was getting to freshman pitcher Jade Hernandez early and often. Although sophomore shortstop Hazel Anglo was stranded at third with one out in the bottom of the first inning, the action would ramp up in the second inning. Hernandez would hit junior designated player Cierra Contreras on the first pitch to lead off the frame. One out later, senior left fielder Alexis Johnson sent a ball over the left field fence for her first home run of the season.

Sophomore third baseman Megan Wong led off the third inning with a triple to the left field gap and scored two pitches later on a single from Anglo. After Anglo stole second and sophomore second baseman Mylah Burrowes was hit by a pitch, Anglo made it a 4-0 contest on a throwing error after the first out of the frame.

The nail in the coffin came in the fifth inning when Hernandez walked Johnson ahead of freshman center fielder Skyy Saucedo smacking a home run over the right field fence, her first of her high school career. That ended the day for Hernandez, who was replaced by Alexis Ceron and was immediately greeted by first-pitch singles from Jackson and Wong. Then on a 2-0 count, Anglo launched her first home run of the season that barely cleared the left field fence,

“In the first inning, I was a little worried,” said Sanchez. “We missed hit some balls; Megan hit a nice ball, then from there, we missed hit some balls. Early on, the pitch selection wasn’t there. We got a little bit better in the second inning, and then the third inning and we started squaring up some balls. But the big home rum from Alexis to get us on the board early…that took a little bit of the tension off for the girls and they started swinging the bats a little bit better.”

“She did fine,” said Steck of Hernandez. “There were a couple of dropped balls that weren’t really helping her on defense either; a couple of bad routes in the outfield. Obviously, that didn’t help to get [Gahr] runners on, or a walk or a hit by pitch here and there. But ultimately, she left the ball over the plate too much, and that’s what’s going to happen.”

Sophomore right fielder Alissa Agaton came off the bench in the fifth inning and led off with single before moving to second on an error. After a pair of strikeouts, Jackson ended the game with a base hit to left field. Anglo, who drove in four runs, Wong and Jackson all had a pair of hits and for Jackson, who’s mother Jennifer was a catcher for Gahr in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was her first two-hit game of her high school career. In fact, eight of the nine hits Gahr collected came from either a freshman or a sophomore.

“When you step into a good program like this, it’s easy for the freshmen to be a little intimidated and have a tough time,” said Sanchez. “But I think we have a good group of girls who are welcoming and will help some of those younger kids kind of come in and be comfortable. Rylee is getting more and more comfortable behind the plate; she’s definitely more and more comfortable. Really, all the young kids have done a nice job of coming in and really absorbing what we like to do in our program.”

After hosting El Rancho High early in the week, the Dons will begin their last 605 League opener at Artesia High on Friday before hosting Oxford Academy on Tuesday. Cerritos will also visit Pioneer High on Thursday before taking nearly two weeks off because of Spring Break. No one in the league is currently above .500. The Dons still have a few games to make up due to the February rains and the recent heat wave if they can be rescheduled.

“I think we’re ready for league,” said Steck. “We’ve been playing tougher competition, and we do that on purpose just to get us ready for league and hopefully beyond league. But I think it’s important for us to make a strong preseason and kind of take our hits early on, so we know what to work on and know what to adjust.”

Gahr’s Gateway League opener is at Downey High before entertaining Warren High on Tuesday. After that, the Gladiators won’t have a scheduled game until Apr. 14 when they host Mayfair High, and unlike the 605 League, four of the five members of the Gateway League have a winning record.

“We’re slowly but surely mending,” said Sanchez of the early season injuries. “We still our banged up a little bit. We have Downey on Thursday; we have another non-league game on Tuesday versus Kennedy, so that’s going to be another good tune-up for us. The girls have to be ready [for league]. It’s another season; these are going to be challenging, intense games. Downey has a great program, they have some great players over there and I know they’re going to come in and battle us.”