Highland, Ridgeview looking to add regional titles Saturday on the road
Jun. 25—The road to winning a Central Section championship started more than three years ago for the Highland softball team, after it suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Kern Valley in the 2018 Division V title game.
To add insult to injury, the top-seeded Scots were hit with a 1-2 punch the next two years, losing in the quarterfinals in 2019, then seeing their season wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic last season
Three current players had a front-row seat for each disappointment along with sixth-year coach Jackie Puente. So when Highland finally broke through for a 9-0 victory in last week's Division V title game, emotions ran high.
"It's just their mentality and their love for the game overall," Puente said. "They just want to win and they want to make a name for themselves. They want to end up on top."
As it turns out, the Scots' journey was just getting started — and in fact, just got a lot longer, literally.
A pair of lopsided victories in this week's Southern California Regional playoffs has the team on the brink of another championship — one they will have to travel near the Mexican border, more than 300 miles away to play top-seeded Holtville (with an estimated population of 6,621).
"I think once they step off the bus, they're going to be game ready," said Puente, whose team was scheduled to leave Bakersfield at 9 a.m. Saturday for the 6:30 p.m. game. "They're going to be ready to play."
Puente's confidence stems from an impressive postseason run that has seen the Scots outscore their six opponents 77-2, with 10 different players batting over .400 for the season.
"It's just their confidence level," Puente said. "They work well together, and if you work well together as a team, you'll win. They play as a team and that's all they have to do."
Senior third baseman Marissa Campos was a freshman on the 2018 squad that lost to the Broncs, which featured a controversial play at home plate that nullified what appeared to be the tying run in the bottom of the sixth.
Campos is second on the team with a .508 batting average, and has been at her best during the playoff run. She has had at least two hits in her last five postseason games, including a home run in a 27-0 victory over Los Angeles-Smidt Tech in the regional opener on Tuesday. She was 3 for 4 in Thursday's 11-1 victory at No. 2 Gardena.
Right fielder Mariyah Campos was also on that 2018 squad. She is hitting .463 for the season and is 9 for 18 with eight RBIs in her last five playoff games. The other four-year varsity player, Shelby Hernandez, went 1 for 2 against Smidt Tech.
"I think for the ones that we've had in the program the last four years and that we did have that opportunity, and at some point it got taken away," Puente said. "For them, I mean it's just they're hungry. They wanted a Valley, and they got a Valley. They have an opportunity to win (regionals) and they want that, as well."
Ridgeview has taken a similar path to success this year, capturing their first Central Section baseball title last Saturday at top-seeded Kerman.
Now the Wolf Pack will have an opportunity to add more hardware when it travels to top-seeded Simi Valley-Royal for the SoCal Division IV Regional final on Saturday for a 4 p.m. matchup.
Ridgeview (13-10) is fresh off a 3-1 victory over No. 3 Rancho Cucamonga, where junior right-hander Jacob Gutierrez tossed a complete-game three-hitter.
The Wolf Pack played a solid defensive game and made the most of five hits and three well-timed sacrifice bunts. Adan Rivera had a key two-run single to give his team a 3-0 lead in the third inning.
