LAKE FOREST — Warren’s softball team scored three runs in the seventh inning to edge El Toro 8-7 on Saturday in the CIF-SS Division 4 semifinals at El Toro High.
Warren (20-12) will play Long Beach Poly in the championship game Friday or Saturday.
It will be the first championship appearance for the Bears since 2010 and they are seeking their first CIF championship since 1975.
El Toro (14-13-1) led 7-5 entering the seventh inning after a solo home run by Princeton signee Camryn Bradshaw extended the lead to two runs.
After a leadoff double by Warren in the seventh inning and a fielding error on a pop fly, Warren tied the game with a single by Bella Gonzalez. El Toro tried to throw out a runner at third base, but an errant throw led to the tying run scoring.
On the ensuing at-bat, Lexi Cortez drove in the go-ahead run with a single.
El Toro is a young team that features just two seniors and multiple freshmen in its starting lineup. That youth and inexperience was on display Saturday with multiple errors and errant throws on the base paths leading to runs.
“I think the miscues we saw there are a little bit of the youth and inexperience,” El Toro coach Shannon Reuter said. “I’m hopeful that this group can rebound and move forward after having some experience under their belt.”
The energy on the field and in the stands changed in the fourth inning when both teams had offensive rallies.
Rachel Lopez hit a three-run home run for Warren to give the Bears a 5-2 lead.
El Toro tied the game in the fourth inning with an RBI single by Bradshaw, a run-scoring triple by Sadie Mitchell and an RBI single by Emerson Rollins.
Sophomore Hayden Stofle has been El Toro’s ace pitcher all season and Reuter stuck with her despite Warren’s powerful offense and the defensive miscues happening behind her. Stofle pitched a complete game, allowed 12 hits, struck out six and only four of the eight runs allowed were earned.
“She’s a competitor all the time and always wants the ball in her hand,” Reuter said. “We know that when she is on, and I’d argue that she was today, we always have a chance to win. She’s a kid that’s going to be on everyone’s radar for the next couple of years.”
Lopez went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for Warren. Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Lisa Garcia went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI.
The first five hitters in El Toro’s lineup each had two hits. Saylor Hinkson went 2 for 4 with a triple and a RBI. Mitchell and Rollins each went 2 for 4 with a RBI and Bradshaw went 2 for 4 with the home run and two RBIs.
Bradshaw had a .513 batting average this season with eight home runs, 23 RBIs and 22 walks. Nineteen of Bradshaw’s 39 hits were extra-base hits and she had an on-base percentage of .622.
“Camryn Bradshaw is the gold standard,” Reuter said. “She gets all these accolades and she deserves them. Her numbers are impressive but it’s her intangibles that make her special. Our success has been Bradshaw and the way she got the freshmen to feel comfortable this year. I think that says a lot about the legacy she is leaving.”
Bradshaw was a four-year varsity starter for El Toro and was a key member of the 2022 team that reached the Division 5 championship game. El Toro reached at least the semifinals in three of Bradshaw’s four years.
“I’m going to remember these postseason runs,” Bradshaw said. “We do things people don’t see; we go to the weight room at six in the morning and practice longer than anybody. That’s the reason we keep getting so far and I’m excited to see how this program continues to grow.”
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