ORANGE – By the third inning of the CIF-SS Division 1 first-round softball playoff game between Pacifica and El Modena on Thursday, the Vanguards seemed on the verge of winning the game by virtue of the mercy rule.
Vanguards pitcher Ashley Driskill, who had come in to relieve starter Sara Pinedo earlier in the inning, got a strikeout for the final out and the Vanguards hung on for an 8-5 victory over the two-time defending Division 1 champion.
El Modena softball players, from left, Kaitlyn Galasso, Parker Mayes and Monica Garcia were the offensive standouts for the Vanguards in their 8-5 victory over Pacifica in a CIF-SS Division 1 first-round playoff game Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)
Rosary defeated Bonita, 8-2, on Thursday.
Monica Garcia delivered a two-run single in the inning and Kaitlyn Galasso singled in a run.
“Our team was up and I was just trying to keep the energy going,” Galasso said of her home run. “They've walked me in the past, and once they started throwing to me, I was just homed in on driving the ball and that's what happened.”
The Vanguards took the 8-0 lead into the fifth when Leyla Ayres and Natalie Pacheco each hit solo home runs to get the No. 8 Mariners (15-12) closer.
The Mariners quickly loaded the bases in the seventh, when the first three batters reached on a hit-by-pitch, a single and a walk.
Driskill struck out the next batter for the second out and after a walk to Ayres, loaded the bases again. The right-hander ended the drama by getting a strikeout for the final out of the game.
Under the section’s previous postseason format, the top two playoff entries from a league were placed on opposite sides of the bracket if they were in the same division.
“To me, these are two of the better teams in Division 1,” Pacifica coach Tony Arduino said “It's a shame that we had to play in the first round. But you know, it's a new system. So, you know, obviously it's going to take some time to get used to it, but I've been coaching high school baseball and softball a long time. And I've never, ever seen a first-round game against two league teams. There were rules so it didn't happen.”
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