Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0

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By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
South Hills High School softball coach Scott Fisch said he might have pulled a muscle, one of the risks he takes every time the Huskies win CIF-Southern Section playoff games. Fisch lines up his team along the third-base line afterward, then circles the bases and makes a head first slide at home. He's been doing it a lot lately, struggling to catch his breath after South Hills hung on for a 4-3 victory over fourth-seed Warren in Thursday's Division 3 quarterfinals at home. (To continue click thread)

TUESDAY'S SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE
Division 3
Chino Hills at Oaks Christian, 3:15 p.m.
South Hills at Bishop Amat, 3:15 p.m.
Division 5
South El Monte at La Canada, 3:15 p.m.
Arroyo at Beaumont, 3:15 p.m.

Softball
Thursday's quarterfinal results
Division 3

Oaks Christian 4, St. Lucy's 0
Chino Hills 6, La Serna 2
South Hills 4, Warren 3
Bishop Amat 9, Torrance 1
Division 5
South El Monte 4, Marlborough 2
Arroyo 4, Savanna 3

Amat wins: The second-seeded Lancers smacked the ball early and often, coasting to a 9-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 softball playoffs Thursday.

St. Lucy's goes quietly: The Regents managed only one in Thursday's CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinal - a total that was good enough for victory in its first-round game, but it wasn't enough in a 4-0 loss to No. 1 seed Westlake Village Oaks Christian.

Don't doubt the South: The Eagles came from behind for a 4-2 victory over sixth-seeded Marlborough in a quarterfinal game Thursday afternoon.

Chino Hills rolls: Chino Hills High School's softball team put all three elements of its attack - pitching, hitting and defense - to use Thursday in a 6-2 victory over host La Serna in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.

"It doesn't get old," Fisch said of his postgame celebrations. "It's worth it every time."
South Hills (20-7), which reached the Division 5 championship game last year, advances to its second straight semifinal, where it will face second-seed Bishop Amat (25-3), a 9-1 winner over Torrance, in Tuesday's semifinals at Amat.
"It's nice to have a local game, great for the teams and great for the fans," Fisch said. "(Bishop Amat coach) Jesse (Mendez) coached with our program a few years ago, so I'm really happy for him.
"It's an exciting matchup, they've got the pitcher (Natalie Sanchez) and we've got the hitters, so we're going to see which one's a little better."
One thing South Hills has been during its past two postseason runs is clutch, and Thursday's win was no different.
South Hills pitcher Sydney La Follete was sailing along through three innings, then gave up a leadoff hit in the fourth to Stephanie Olivas, followed by a two-run homer from Tina Iosefa, staking the Bears to a 2-0 lead.
Warren pitcher Franny Vaaulu was giving the Huskies fits. She struck out five straight between the second and third innings, and got out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth.
But South Hills kept knocking on the door, loading the bases again in the fifth with two outs, then caught a break.
Junior Kristen Stewart hit a rocket toward second that bounced away for an error, allowing Brittney Amezquita and Lexi Robles to score to tie the score, 2-2.
Then La Follette followed with single, scoring Britney Rodriguez from third for a 3-2 lead.
Rodriguez added an insurance run in the sixth, singling home Amezquita to push the Huskies' lead to 4-2.
The Huskies needed it.
Vaaulo legged out a single to open the seventh, then Amanda Vallejo doubled her home, trimming the Huskies' lead to 4-3 with no outs and Vallejo on second.
But La Follete settled down, getting a fly out and consecutive ground-outs to end the game. She allowed just seven hits.
Rodriguez, who had two hits with an RBI and run scored, has a word for this kind of postseason magic.
"We always seem to clutch-up," said the junior catcher who already has committed to UCLA. "We were kind of nervous at the beginning, but we clutch-up at the right time."
It wasn't just that, the Huskies turned three inning-ending double plays, and Amezquita, just a freshman, collected three hits and scored twice.
"People don't give our infield enough credit," Fisch said. "You hit the ball on the ground and it's usually an out. We might make a mistake, but we rarely make two in a row."
Fisch was especially pleased with Amezquita, who led off the fifth and sixth with base hits to get the Huskies going, scoring each time.
"She's got either ice in her veins or she's not smart enough to understand the situations," Fisch said. "She doesn't always (bat) for us, but she hits faster pitching, that's why she was in there. You can pitch around Britney Rodriguez all you want, but we have others that can burn you, and today she (Amezquita) was as big as anyone for us."


12 Comments

to mr david r said:

david, well written. What year did you graduate from BA? Scholar athlete?

david rivera said:

i saw bishop amat earlier this year at the corona santiago tournament and although they lost to santiago 2-0 which by the way santiago is in the semis in Division 1 playoffs i knew back then that amat would win a cif title. there not there yet but i assure you there going to win it all

Alicia said:

What a great season for the Lancers! Maybe next year? Go La Serna!

shfan said:

Yeah but they held you to 0 through 7

Great season ladies said:

Hold your heads high SL, great game. Pitching and defense once again - great. Oaks Christian is a great team, kept them to 1 run though 5. All the credit goes to you ladies.

Amat Dad said:

Good to see that this gets settled on the field rather than the paper. Amat's offense clicked against Torrance, hope to see more of the same on Tues. GO LADY LANCERS!!!!

Bill Parker said:

Hey Fred Arroyo beat Savanna. And South El Monte won. Can the MVL get a little respect? both teams were not ranked going into CIF and just beat ranked teams. I remember in one of your articles you called the MVL "not that strong".

SHHS Score said:

South Hills WINSSSSSSSSSS 4-3

Way to go girls you guys rock!

On to the Semi's

Garrett Fisch said:

The access code to follow the South Hills game is "n66vzc2mck".

SL Regent Fan said:

I might add that St. Lucy's has a very rigorous college prep academic program too. These girls don't have it easy but excel nonetheless.

SL Regents said:

What a great year for St. Lucy's athletics and athletes. Every sport has placed in league and participated in CIF. Volleyball won CIF and made it to semi's at state. Water polo was CIF runner up. They have been awarded Sierra League MVP's in volleyball, basketball, soccer, and water polo - we don't know about softball yet? Several athletes have earned the Sierra League scholar-athlete and the All-League Academic awards. The school does not have 6th period athletics and most sports have no off-season participation. Not bad for a school with an enrollment of about 750.

Go Regents!

Regent John said:

Good luck Regents, Play a great game today as you have.

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Fred Robledo

Fred Robledo is the Prep Sports Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. E-mail me your opinions, story ideas or tips to fred.robledo@sgvn.com.

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to mr david r on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: david, well written. What year did you graduate from BA? Scholar athle ...

david rivera on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: i saw bishop amat earlier this year at the corona santiago tournament ...

Alicia on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: What a great season for the Lancers! Maybe next year? Go La Serna! ...

shfan on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: Yeah but they held you to 0 through 7 ...

Great season ladies on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: Hold your heads high SL, great game. Pitching and defense once again - ...

Amat Dad on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: Good to see that this gets settled on the field rather than the paper. ...

Bill Parker on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: Hey Fred Arroyo beat Savanna. And South El Monte won. Can the MVL ge ...

SHHS Score on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: South Hills WINSSSSSSSSSS 4-3 Way to go girls you guys rock! On to t ...

Garrett Fisch on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: The access code to follow the South Hills game is "n66vzc2mck". ...

SL Regent Fan on Softball: Bishop Amat and South Hills win, will square off in Tuesday's semifinals; Chino Hills, South El Monte and Arroyo win; St. Lucy's falls 4-0: I might add that St. Lucy's has a very rigorous college prep academic ...

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