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May 25, 2026
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
La Mirada head coach Brent Tuttle has never been to the CIF-Southern Section semifinals, having fallen in the quarterfinals three times and the first round at home twice since 2018. But he has always said that it’s not about him; it’s all about the players.
After the fourth-seeded Matadores knocked off Etiwanda High 3-1 last Thursday in a Division 1 quarterfinal contest, La Mirada moved on to the semifinals for the first time since 2016, and it was a freshman and a junior at the top of the lineup that provided the offensive fireworks while another junior was doing her thing in the circle, as she has done all season.
“I’ve been fortunate as a player to win [a CIF title] in basketball as a player and I’ve been fortunate at Chino Hills to win one as a coach and be on that staff,” said Tuttle. “I can just contribute my feelings as a player and as a coach and…I enjoy their success. Let them enjoy it and it is what it is. I don’t control it; we put them in the lineup, and we have a really good team here. Let them do what they do.”
“I’m super excited,” said junior shortstop Reese Hilliard. “I’ve been kicked out in the first round and kicked out in the third round, but now I’ve made it to the farthest I’ve ever [been] in CIF.”
Freshman left fielder Alanna Adams, one of four ninth graders whom Tuttle has inserted into the lineup virtually every game, went two for two and scored twice in the leadoff spot while Hilliard also went two for three and drove in all three runs, two with Adams on base. For added measure, junior pitcher Alison Ortega did her thing, striking out 11 and yielding a pair of hits.
‘I’m so excited because this is obviously my first year here and being able to go [to the semifinals] as a freshman is really important to me, especially because I’m leadoff,” said Adams. “So I kind of set the tone for the game.”
“We go as Alana goes,” said Tuttle. “If Alana gets on, then you have the Hilliard sisters coming right back up and it’s going to be a tough inning for you, and she knows that. So she’s been great for us all year. I think in the last game, we were struggling, and she was three for four with two doubles. Alana gets the job done.”
After a perfect top of the first inning from Ortega on 10 pitches and a pair of strikeouts, Adams didn’t waste much time with her performance as she laced a two-strike pitch from Mya Coleman just inside the first base line for a triple. Four pitches later, Hilliard grounded out to plate Adams. In the next inning, senior designated player Bettie Mae Acevedo beat out an infield single and scored on a two-out double from Hilliard.
Two innings later, it was the Adams-Hilliard combination again as Adams was hit by a pitch with two outs, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and scored the eventual game clincher on Hilliard’s single to the right field gap on a full count.
“I was honestly just thinking put the ball in play,” said Hilliard. “I knew anywhere I hit it she would be able to score. But mainly, I wanted to hit it to the right side, maybe right side in the air to the outfield so she could tag up.”
Hilliard came into the game second on the team with a .565 batting average and right behind her is Adams, who was batting .442. In fact, Adams is trying to follow in her sister’s footsteps as Savannah Adams, who played for Tuttle from 2018-2021, was also a .400 hitter.
“Coming into this year, I knew that I would be playing,” said Adams. “I just didn’t expect to be [the leadoff hitter] and doing as well as I am right now.”
“After the first couple of preseason games, we knew she would slide right in, and that just gives us another spot before Reese and [junior] Riley [Hilliard] come up,” said Tuttle. “It was a done deal right at the beginning. We knew that these freshmen were going to be talented and if they buy into what we’re doing, and our style of softball, we were going to be really good.”
With Adams and Reese Hilliard taking care of the offense, that was more than enough for Ortega, who had not allowed anyone to get past first base until Dailynn Battee led off the sixth with a single to right, moved to third on a double from Karrington Bennett and came home on a sacrifice fly from Amani McField. How dominant was Ortega? She was ahead 0-1 eight times and 0-2 nine times.
“She’s just tough, and a lot of times, you don’t even think she knows it,” said Tuttle. “Her and Riley are really gelling; me and Riley are gelling. I’ll call the pitches in, and Riley is happy. And then there’s situations sometimes I’ll call it in, and she doesn’t want it. I trust Riley in certain situations, and we’ll do that. I think the two of them are really gelling and it’s going to be fun because we get them all back next year.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of her,” said Adams. “She’s really just amazing; a great player and we all love her so much.”
Riley Hilliard, in the first, and freshman center fielder Milani Cruz, in the sixth, accounted for the other two hits the Matadores would collect.
La Mirada would knock off La Habra High 5-1 last Saturday, advancing to the program’s sixth championship game, but first since 2011. The Matadores, who have allowed four runs in four playoff games and outhit their playoff opponents 34-18, will face JSerra High for the Division 1 title.
“Honestly, the whole year we’ve talked about being one way, and that’s basically doing everything one way; practicing one way and basically just giving it our all no matter what,” said Adams.
“I just think it’s the best competition and every single team that you play can go either way,” said Reese Hilliard on playing in Division 1. “Just attacking early; getting runs early in the game is really important and that’s what we did today.”
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