Stone Ridge Christian, Hilmar softball teams advance to section championship games
Sophomore Cali Cole tossed a one-hit shutout, striking out 13 hitters to help lead the Stone Ridge Christian High School softball team to a 12-0 win over Alpha Charter in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII semifinals on Thursday.
The top-seeded Knights (21-1) will face No. 2 Big Valley Christian in the section championship game on Saturday at Delta College at 11 a.m. Stone Ridge Christian won the last Division VII championship play in 2019.
Cole helped herself at the plate, going 3-for-3, including an inside-the-park home run.
Older sister Caitlyn Cole went 2-for-3 with a triple for the Knights. Carissa Hoekstra finished with three hits, including a double. Alyssa Villa collected two hits, including a triple.
The win was the Knights 19 consecutive victory. During the win streak Stone Ridge Christian defeated Saturday’s opponent Big Valley Christian 3-2 and picked up a forfeit win over BVC.
Central Catholic 4, Merced 1 — The Bears season came to an end with a loss with a loss in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinals to the Raiders.
Ava Brown hit a home run in the fourth inning to give the Bears (17-7) a 1-0 lead.
It was the only run Central Catholic pitcher Randi Roelling gave up in the game. The Raiders junior gave up just four hits and struck out 13 hitters to pick up the win.
The No. 2 seeded Raiders will play No. 3 Oakdale in the semifinals on Tuesday.
Vanden 4, Los Banos 1 — Hazyl Gray struck out 13 hitters and went the distance as the top-seeded Vikings defeated the No. 8 the Tigers.
Vanden improved to 20-0 on the season.
Mia Santos went 4-for-4 for the Vikings with a double and two RBIs.
Hilmar 12, Linden 5 — The No. 3 seeded Yellowjackets pounded out 17 hits and 12 runs to advance to Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game.
Hilmar (17-8) will face No. 1 Calaveras in the section finals at 4 p.m. at Delta College in Stockton.
Woodland Christian 11, Le Grand 2 — The No. 1 seed Cardinals improved to 24-3 with a win over the Bulldogs in the Division VI semifinals.
Le Grand ends the season with 14-13-1 record.
