The Liberty Charter Lions are one win away from playing for their first San Diego CIF Division V softball championship following their dramatic 2-1 win over Bayfront Charter on Saturday.
Lions senior Stephanie Uribe pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts as Liberty avoided the scare from the Sharks, who are coached by former Christian High player of the year Mary Grabowski.
Uribe also had two hits and scored a run in the Lions’ two-run third.
Freshman Isabella Guerrero also had two hits for LCHS.
The Liberty Charter Lions are one win away from playing for their first San Diego CIF Division V softball championship following their dramatic 2-1 win over Bayfront Charter on Saturday.
Lions senior Stephanie Uribe pitched a complete game with 12 strikeouts as Liberty avoided the scare from the Sharks, who are coached by former Christian High player of the year Mary Grabowski.
Uribe also had two hits and scored a run in the Lions’ two-run third.
Freshman Isabella Guerrero also had two hits for LCHS.
The Lemon Grove-based school will face Guajome Park Academy, of Vista, in the semifinals at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday at the Poway Sportsplex.
The winner advances to Friday evening’s title game at UCSD at 5.
The loser of the game will play in an elimination contest following the first semifinal at 7:30 p.m. at the Poway Sportsplex, to advance to the one-game final.
Liberty Charter, coached by Breanna Simoneau (third year), has a 17-4 record entering the semifinal.
The teams could meet again as Bayfront eliminated Julian, 5-1, on Tuesday, to stay alive in the elimination bracket.
Meanwhile, host El Capitan defeated Helix, 5-1, on Tuesday to remain alive in the Division III playoffs.
Vaqueros pitcher Kylie Mead pitched a complete game, while Alexa Williams had two hits, an RBI and scored a run.
Ninth-seeded El Capitan (18-10-1) will face third-seeded Mission Hills in an elimination game on Thursday at Poway Sportsplex at 2.
The Vaqueros advanced to the matchup with Helix by defeating Serra, 3-1, on Saturday behind a complete game by Williams.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Conquistadors, Allyson Von Yokes and freshman Brooklyn Fukushima drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, respectively, for the Vaqueros.
El Cap turned a triple play to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth.
The Vaqueros opened the postseason with a 3-1 win over Chula Vista.
The 11th-seeded Highlanders opened the playoffs with a 5-2 upset of sixth-seeded Mission Bay, then traveled to the North County and stunned three-seed Mission Hills, 11-5.
Helix then fell to second-seeded Central Union, 2-1, falling into the matchup with the Vaqueros.
The Division III championship game will be held on Saturday at 2 at UCSD.
Santana High junior Madison Mendez belted two home runs and drove in five RBI as the Sultans remained alive in the Division II playoffs with a 13-5 home win over Mt. Carmel on Tuesday.
Mendez, who also doubled and scored a pair of runs, pitched a complete game, as well.
The Sultans also got home runs from senior Mackenzie Bennett and freshman Joey Barkhimer, who gave Santana a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
The Sundevils scored four runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead, but Mendez hit a three-run, go-ahead home run to right field to regain the advantage as the Sultans scored six in the fifth and five in the sixth.
Santana, the No. 3 seed, will meet sixth-seeded San Pasqual, which knocked out the top-seed, Clairemont, 4-1.
The Sultans will have a home-field edge, of sorts, when the teams meet at Santee Sportsplex on Thursday at 2. Santana opened the playoffs with a 2-0 win over the Golden Eagles.
However, Santana was rewarded with a trip to the desert, where the Sultans lost to Brawley, knocking them into the elimination bracket.
The winner of Thursday’s game will face the loser of the Brawley-Olympian semifinal, which will be played at 4:15 on Thursday at Santee Sportsplex.
The Division II championship game will be held on Saturday at 4:30 at UCSD.
Granite Hills was eliminated from the Open Division playoffs on Tuesday after falling to Scripps Ranch, 12-2.
On Saturday, Granite Hills defeated Steele Canyon for the fifth time this season, rallying for a 5-4 victory in the second round of the San Diego CIF Open Division championship playoffs.
The Eagles’ Julia Tysling and Rylee Omahen roped back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead, overcoming the grand slam home run by the Cougars’ Audrey Bagge in the top of the inning.
Granite Hills star Staci Chambers, who doubled to lead off the inning for the Eagles’ first hit of the game, earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
The fourth-seeded Eagles opened the playoffs with a 3-1 win over Bonita Vista.
The loss eliminated Steele Canyon (19-14), which was defeated in a first-round contest against top-seeded Cathedral Catholic.
The Grossmont Foothillers were the top-seed in the Division I postseason, but suffered a stunning two-game exit.
