Stage set for Softball Championship

WALNUT, CA — Eight teams are set to play for the California Community College Athletic Association Softball Championship. 

The double-elimination tournament begins Thursday, May 18, and runs through Sunday, May 21, at Mt. San Antonio College and Citrus College. Sierra College, the College of San Mateo, San Jose City College, and Folsom Lake College will represent Northern California, and Palomar College, Mt. San Antonio College, Cypress College, and Cerritos College will represent Southern California.

The tournament opens with four first-round games on Thursday at Mt. SAC in Walnut. A pair of elimination games will be played at nearby Citrus College in Glendora on Friday, and all remaining tournament games will be back at Mt. SAC's facility. 

Information for the event is available on the Tournament Central page and features live stats, tournament bracket, recaps, photos, and links to watch the games live.

Tournament Central | Tickets | Location (Mt. SAC) | Location (Citrus College) | 2023 All-State and All-Region Teams | 2023 NFCA Cal JC All-Americans 

Sierra Wolverines

Sierra has sat atop the North Region rankings since the February 15 California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association (3CFCA) poll and spent one week at No. 1 in the 3CFCA State Rankings. The Wolverines started the season 12-0 and responded to their first season loss with a 25-game win streak. Sierra won the competitive Big 8 Conference, which sent seven teams to the playoffs, with a 23-1 conference record. They are currently 4-1 in the playoffs after sweeping Solano in two shutout wins and beating conference rival Consumnes River in the Super Regionals in three games. They are 6-0 against teams in the 3C2A State Championship with three wins over Folsom Lake, two against San Jose, and one over San Mateo. The Wolverines have posted 18 shutouts this season.

They are led by North Pitcher of the Year and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Amaya Sutton who boasts a 23-2 record with a 1.20 ERA and 204 strikeouts. Fellow All-Americans Jazzy Smith, Eliana Enriquez, and Kendal Manley will also make a big impact. They are guided by North Coach of the Year Darci Brownell. 

San Mateo Bulldogs

The defending champions are in the hunt for back-to-back titles after two commanding wins over Santa Rosa in the regionals and beating American River in three games in the Super Regionals. The Bulldogs won the Coast Conference with a 13-1 record and have been in the 3CFCA State Rankings top 10 for the entire season. They've scored 336 runs this season, the second most in the state, and lead all teams with 137 steals.

They are the only team in the North with three All-State selections, utility player Vanessa Lang, outfielder Lafu Malepeai, and outfielder Hailey Meisenbach. Malepeai, Meisenbach, and All-Northern selection Gabrielle Perez were also named All-Americans. Malepeai was named the Most Valuable Player at last year's State Championship. 

San Jose Jaguars

The Jaguars return to the State Championship for the second year in a row, this time in underdog fashion after entering the playoffs as an 11 seed. San Jose made their way past six-seed Sacramento City in three games in the regional and swept Coast Conference rival three-seed West Valley in the Super Regionals. After battling through a tough regular season schedule, San Jose appears to be hitting their stride at the right time.

They are led by All-State selection Melissa Felix and All-American pitcher Alaina Valdez. 

Folsom Lake Falcons

The Falcons are the Cinderella team of the tournament. They entered the playoffs as a 13 seed after finishing sixth in the Big 8 but are peaking at the right time. They opened the playoffs with the biggest upset of the postseason season, defeating four-seed Monterey Peninsula, and followed that up with another upset against five-seed San Joaquin Delta.

They are led by All-Big 8 pitcher Isabella Savala who also leads the team in RBIs. 

Palomar

Palomar has been the top-ranked team in the state for most of the season. They started the year 25-0 and won the Pacific Coast Conference with a perfect 12-0 record. They've dominated their playoff opponents sweeping Allan Hancock in the Regionals and Santiago Canyon in the Super Regionals with a combined score of 34-3. They lead the state in a slew of categories: RBIs, runs scored, triples, total bases, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and shutouts. They've recorded wins against Mt. SAC, Cypress, Folsom Lake, and Cerritos.

The Comets swept the South postseason awards. India Caldwell, who's thrown two perfect games this season, earned the South Pitcher of the Year award, infielder Aaliyah Rivas picked up South Player of the Year honors, and head coach Lacey Craft was named the South Coach of the Year. They have five All-Americans on the roster Caldwell, Rivas, Ellison Hazlett, Allyson Amato, and Faith Steffany.

Mt. SAC

The Mounties spent two weeks ranked as the top team in the state and have spent the entire season in the top five. They won the South Coast Conference with a 23-1 record and are currently on a 22-game win streak. They've raced through the postseason, sweeping San Diego Mesa and Bakersfield. Mt. SAC ranks in the top five in the state in RBIs, hits, runs, doubles, total bases, shutouts, batting average, stolen bases, and slugging percentage. They are the only squad to defeat Palomar this season and have also beaten, San Mateo, Cypress, and Cerritos.

They are led by All-Americans Aleyna Urbina and Mia Mendoza and All-State selection Janis Espinoza.

Cypress

The Chargers have been ranked in the top 10 all season and in the top-5 for all but three weeks. Cypress won the Orange Empire Conference with a 19-2 conference record and has shown no signs of slowing down. The Chargers edged out Pasadena City in a pair of one-run games in the regionals before shutting out Ventura in back-to-back games in the Super Regionals. The Chargers rank in the top five in the state in hits, runs, batting average, doubles, on-base percentage, and shutouts.

Cypress is led by a pair of All-Americans, shortstop Jaylene Duarte and one of the best two-way players in the state pitcher and power hitter Emily Rush.

Cerritos 

Cerritos is surging at the right time. The runners-up in the South Coast Conference with a 19-5 conference record ended the regular season on a nine-game win streak to surge to No. 10 in the 3CFCA State Rankings. The Falcons have battled through the postseason going to three games in each of the first two rounds, first beating LA Mission and then defeating Fullerton College. 

They'll be led by All-American Alyssa Sotelo and All-Southern players Samantha Islas and Richere Leduc.

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Anthony Avila, Sports Information Director, California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association (3CFCA)