The San Diego Section crowned seven divisional softball champions to cap its 2026 spring season. But that wasn’t exactly the end of the season for all the teams.
The four semifinalists in the Open Division qualified to compete in the ensuing three-round Southern California regional tournament. Also, the finalists in the Division I and champions in Division II through Division V also qualified.
Not everyone was available for, what for some, was post-graduation competition. Late season injuries besides graduation ceremonies also complicated participation.
Division I section champion Steele Canyon, Division I section runner-up Torrey Pines and Division II champion Carlsbad were among those teams that opted out.
A few other teams did squeak into the brackets, however, for a full complement of 10 section regional participants.
Five advanced from the opening quarterfinals and three advanced to regional championship games with semifinal victories.
The four East County regional participants included El Capitan (No. 7 seed in Division II), Helix Charter (No. 2 seed in Division III), Grossmont (No. 5 seed in Division IV) and Monte Vista (No. 3 seed in Division V).
The Division III section champion, Helix blew past seventh-seeded Covina, 14-7, in quarterfinal-round action on June 2 while Grossmont, the Division IV section runner-up, defeated No. 4 Arroyo, 7-4, on the road.
El Capitan (Division II semifinalist) and Monte Vista (Division V section champion) both failed to advance past the first round. El Capitan dropped a 9-4 road match at No. 2 Temecula Great Oak while Monte Vista, playing at home, came up short 9-6 to No. 6 San Bernardino.
Other section entries included Open Division champion Mater Dei Catholic (No. 1 seed in Division I), Open Division runner-up Point Loma (No. 5 seed in Division I), Open Division semifinalist Del Norte (No. 8 seed in Division II), Division III section runner-up Brawley (No. 6 seed in Division III), Division IV section champion Madison (No. 1 seed in Division IV) and Division V section runner-up La Jolla (No. 5 seed in Division V).
Beasts in the East
Sophomore Marley Johnson keyed Helix with three RBI in the opening win over Covina while junior Lillianana Benabdeljaliltacked on two RBI and sophomore Riley Adams and Ella Aguayo and senior LaNiah Broom each drove in one run.
The Lady Highlanders socked four doubles in the game — two by Benabdeljalil and one each by Broom and sophomore Alana Garcia. Aguayo and Broom each had three hits with Benabdeljalil and Broom each scored three runs.
Johnson and freshman Amara Okafor each scored two runs in support of sophomore pitchers Lea Moya and Vivienne Munoz, who combined for eight strikeouts.
Helix faced Simi Valley Grace in the semifinals on June 4 which resulted in a 6-3 win for the Lady Scotties. Broom (home run) collected three RBI while Moya and junior Sophie Plunk each had one RBI. Broom scored two runs.
Moya tossed a complete game with one earned run and six strikeouts.
It was on to the final against No. 4 West Hanford, a 5-4 semifinal winner over No. 8 Mission College Prep.
Helix received RBI from freshman Janessa Briones, Garcia (double) and Johnson but it wasn’t enough in an 8-4 loss to the Lady Huskies. Broom scored two runs in the season-ending contest while Benabdeljalil, Garcia and Johnson each had two hits.
West Hanford rapped out 13 hits and stole five bases to make a winner out of junior Rylan Montoya (16-6), who allowed 10 hits but limited the damage to three earned runs. Moya struck out eight batters in the loss while allowing eight earned runs.
Moya finished the season 12-2 with a 1.31 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 112 innings. Munoz finished the season 11-3 with a 2.543 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 66.1 innings.
The Lady Highlanders finished the season 26-5. West Hanford improved to 20-14.
Grossmont’s Lady Foothillers also lasted a full three rounds.
Grossmont returned to the field with 11 hits, including five doubles and one home run, against Arroyo. Freshman Sahara Roope led the way with two hits, two runs scored, three RBI, one double and one home run while junior Madison Busch (double) plated two runs.
Junior Saraya Roope pitched the full nine innings with five strikeouts to hand the Lady Hillers their first-ever regional playoff win.
The game-winning rally in the top of the ninth started with three doubles, one each by senior Skyler Glover, Busch and Sahara Roope.
The extra-inning victory paved the way for a rematch against Madison, which had unceremoniously knocked the Lady Foothillers from the section championship game with a 14-7 win.
Grossmont racked up 16 hits, including seven doubles in a heavy-handed performance that erased those tears in a 15-3 run-rule decision. Busch (three doubles) collected four RBI while Saraya Roope brought two runners home with a pair of two-baggers. Busch and Saraya Roope each scored three runs.
Sahara Roope allowed five hits and two earned runs in the five-inning run-rule matchup.
The Lady Foothillers remained on the road against Woodlake. Senior Ella Lara led the Lady Tigers (31-4) with five RBI while testing Grossmont with six stolen bases.
Glover (home run) and Busch each drove in two runs. Sahara Roope pitched 4.2 innings with 11 runs allowed (four earned) and four strikeouts.
Grossmont finished the season 20-12-1. Saraya Roope led the team with a 0.575 hitting average while Sahara Roope keyed the team’s fortunes with 45 RBI.
Senior Kylee Frazier (double) accounted for two RBI in El Capitan’s opening round loss while sophomore Addison Higuera and freshman Cassidy Sterling each drove in one run. The Lady Vaqueros (15-15) cranked out 14 hits and four doubles in the season-ending setback while building a 4-3 lead through four frames.
Higuera logged six strikeouts in four innings.
San Bernardino (19-15-1) pulled away with an eight-run second inning against Monte Vista, which rallied late with four seventh inning runs to fall short.
Four defensive errors proved costly for the Lady Monarchs (19-14).
San Bernardino went on to claim the SoCal title with an 11-9 win over No. 1 Arroyo Valley.
MDC emerged as the lone San Diego Section regional champion with wins over Point Loma (7-4 in the semifinals) and No. 2 La Habra (3-0 in the championship game).
Juniors Sunny Sosa and Charlize Masingale both had one RBI to boost the Lady Crusaders for junior ace pitcher Arri Romero (complete game three-hitter).
