Central Catholic softball loses D-III title game, sets sights on NorCal championships

Central Catholic High School softball coach Sam Nichols and his staff were tasked with one of a coach’s most difficult tasks: Convince a group of talented, dedicated and heartbroken athletes that there is time to bounce back.

The top-seeded Raiders lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to No. 2 Ponderosa in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship Saturday, May 27, at Cosumnes River College. It was their second D-III runner-up finish in as many seasons after Central Catholist lost to Vista del Lago last season at San Joaquin Delta College, 7-5.

The Raiders vowed this year would be different, but a second-inning RBI single from Bruins freshman Ellie Escobar doomed the 27-win Raiders, who entered the matchup carrying a 13-game winning streak.

Despite the loss, Central Catholic advances to next week’s CIF Northern California Regional Championships. Games in the single-elimination tournament are May 30, June 1 and June 3. They find out their opponent Sunday.

In the moment, none of that mattered as emotions took over the postgame huddle.

“I feel for them,” Nichols said. “They worked hard. They wanted it, they invested in it. So absolutely it’s difficult to, in the moment, say ‘Hey, don’t worry about it. We still got another week, we’ve still got to play for NorCals.’ This (section championship) was a big goal of ours.”

The players thought about their goal every day. Nichols said the 2022 runner-up plaque has hung in the first cubby in the team’s dugout.

“It’s been a reminder, all year.” he said.

The journey back to the championship started in the team’s first meeting, continued in the weight room and manifested itself on the field.

The team went 14-3 in nonleague games and tournaments before rattling off 10 straight games to end the regular season as Valley Oak League champions and earn the top seed in the playoffs. During the season, the Raiders played in 12 games that were decided by two runs or less, going 9-3. They won their first three playoff games without giving up a run.

“We had a meeting on the second day of school where we just talked about getting back to this moment and getting back to today,” Nichols said. “We spent time in the weight room preparing for this moment. The softball just didn’t go our way.

“I don’t think it was a pressure thing, they were better today.”

Cal-bound pitcher Randi Roelling was perfect after giving up the second-inning run. She struck out 14 batters in the game, gave up just five hits and walked only one. The senior had hopes of replacing the 2022 runner-up patch on her letterman jacket with a championship patch. This season, she recorded her 900th career strikeout and leads the team with six home runs. She will have one more shot at a championship starting Tuesday.

“As soon as I got the job, my first meeting was with her and we’ve been on the same page,” Nichols said of Roelling. “She’s a great communicator, the hardest worker, and then her mental toughness in big games, she’s outstanding. She’s gonna be great at Cal, no question. We’re gonna miss her, not not only for the strikeouts and what she does in the circle, but just her personality, her grit, her grind.”

Fellow senior Jazzelyn Rios came up big in the semifinals against Oakdale, driving in Roelling for the game’s only run. But Nichols said her impact goes beyond just the production that earned her a scholarship to Southeastern Oklahoma State University. She helped incorporate five freshmen and sophomores into a starting lineup with hopes of a blue banner.

Three underclassmen — Jazmarie Roberts, Taryn Calderon and Madison Harrison — also came up big when their team needed it most. Roberts is a sophomore and the team’s leadoff hitter, who bats a team-best .418 with 38 hits. Fellow sophomore Calderon, a catcher-turned-shortstop, shows her work ethic with post-practice and post-game fielding work. Calderon bats second and is second on the team in hits behind Roberts, and the pair lead the team with 12 doubles.

“They’re being a spark plug and playing above their years.” Nichols said.

Harrison, a freshman and Roelling’s batterymate, eagerly has embraced the opportunity to catch a Division I pitcher in her first varsity season.

Roelling, Roberts and junior Emori Machado produced the team’s three hits on Ponderosa’s senior pitcher, Western Michigan University-bound Ana Niles.

“Throughout the year, it has been everybody at some point,” Nichols said. “The team allowed me to coach them hard and push them when they’re uncomfortable … and they accepted that because they wanted to get here.”

Central Catholic could end up anywhere from Division IV to Division II in the NorCal Regional Championships. Last season’s team was promoted to Division II despite falling in the D-III championship game. The Raiders were given the No. 6 seed and beat Aragon on the road before falling to Lincoln.

The players are hoping a NorCal title will erase the sting of back-to-back section runner-up finishes. They will regroup in practice on Monday. Nichols said there will be a lot of music to help get the team loose and take their minds off Saturday’s loss, turn the page and move on.

“We have an opportunity to play some more,” Nichols said. “There’s only a few teams in the state that are still playing and we’re one of them.”