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El Modena players and coaches with the CIF So Cal Division I regional plaque. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
It was a promising start for El Modena High School’s softball team in the CIF So Cal Regional Division I championship game Saturday afternoon.
Kaitlyn Galasso led off the bottom of the first inning and Monica Garcia belted a home run to put the Vanguards ahead 2-0.
But No. 2-seeded Mater Dei Catholic from Chula Vista stayed close, then broke the game open with six runs in the fourth inning and went on to capture a 12-3 victory, securing the program’s second regional title.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
Arri Romero went the distance for Mater Dei Catholic (27-7) scattering six hits and striking out nine. Mater Dei Catholic banged out 13 hits off starter Ashley Driskoll and relievers Jules Vega and Kylie Campana.
Top-seeded El Modena was trying to bring home the school’s first CIF So Cal regional title after losing to Norco last week in the CIF Division 1 final. A big turnout of fans from both schools packed the stands at El Modena.
“I knew we were going to compete as long as we could, it’s just unfortunate we ran out of bullets there at the end,” said El Modena Coach Bobby Calderon. “They’re legit, they have their full squad, you can’t take anything away from them. We knew what we were walking into.”
El Modena (23-10) was 12-2 at home going into the game.
“Us being here at home, obviously this is our home, we’ re comfortable and we do what we do, we came out and struck first and put is in a good situation, there are probably a couple opportunities that we wish we could capitalize a little more but we came up short and they kept playing, that’s the name of the game.”
Calderon was pleased with the start.
“Those girls, Kaitlyn Galasso and Monica Garcia have been carrying us all year,” Calderon said. “When they’re successful, we’re successful and they proved it, we just came up short.”
After Mater Dei Catholic cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning, the Vanguards answered in the bottom of the inning with a run on an RBI single by Parker Mayes, who drove in Driskill who singled.
But in the fifth innning, Mater Dei Catholic used four hits, four walks and a hit batter to score seven runs. Analesse Garcia had the key hit, a bases clearing double. The Crusaders added five more runs in the seventh inning. Maya Matthies had a two-run home run and Garcia a solo home run in the inning.
Despite the tough ending, Calderon and the El Modena players remained proud of what the team accomplished. El Modena was ranked No. 1 in the final county poll by OC Varsity.
“To be honest with you, it was absolutely historic,” Calderon said. “You look at what we accomplished, winning the Dave Kops Tournament without one of our best players, winning the league title and obviously getting to the CIF Division 1 championship, El Modena has been in Division 1 only one other time.
“We came out, we were that close to a championship at the Division 1 level, we got to do this which was very important to our school, our community. You look at the tremendous amount of support we got here today, I think that sums it up. The crowd was awesome, we’re missing a lot of players (who opted out). For everyone to be here and want to be a part of it, and alumni showing up and parents of former players showing up, it’s exactly what you want to be a part of.”
Calderon said that four El Modena starters opted out and were not available for the final.
Garcia, the El Modena senior third baseman, was excited about the Vanguards’ start.
“Going into this game we all had the mindset of attacking early on every single pitch that we can,” Garcia said. “Obviously, she’s (Romero) is a really great pitcher so we just wanted to attack as hard as we can, that was my mindset was going into the at bat, put the ball hard in play and find a way to get the runner in and it happened to work out.”
Garcia was proud of what the team accomplished.
“I transferred in my junior year,” she said. “It’s probably the best environment that one can play softball at. Our coaches are super supportive of each other, our teammates have one of the best connection with each other, I think that this season was obviously super memorable, winning Dave Kops (Tournament), making CIF championship and obviously being here. It was definitely one of the best seasons that anyone could have.”
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Go to X (at OC Sports Zone) for post-game interviews and highlights by OC Sports Zone’s Adam Kunin.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com