Orestimba softball beats Wheatland in D-V title game to win program’s fifth section crown

For the first time in a month, the Orestimba softball team had a day off on Monday.

With the exception of Sunday — the CIF prohibits organized team practices on Sundays — the Warriors have either had practice or a game every day since the last week in April.

After rain forced a number of schools to reschedule games, Orestimba played three or four games a week to finish league play in enough time before the Sac-Joaquin Section seeding committee made the final decision on playoff brackets.

“We’ve been playing games back-to-back-to-back and we’ve had practices in between because we need to be ready,” said Orestimba pitcher Jacquelyn Lujan. “The seniors have Baccalaureate and a lot of the underclassmen are going to take care of themselves, probably go swimming. Just enjoy the day.”

It was all worth it.

The Warriors last week beat No. 1 seed Sutter to advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game at Cosumnes River College, the program’s first title game appearance since 2008, where they matched up against No. 3 Wheatland Saturday.

Lujan struck out 14 batters and sophomore Sophia Machado finished with two hits with a double and three RBIs to lead their team to an 8-3 win and their first blue banner in 15 years.

“In your mind, you’re like ‘I did that,’” Lujan said of the team’s reaction to winning the title. “It’s a big confidence boost when you can say ‘I brought a section championship home with my team.’ That is how I’m going to remember high school, that up high ... on cloud nine energy.”

Their reward for winning the title? A highly coveted blue championship banner.

And a much-needed Monday off.

A lesson learned and a massive upset

Marroquin believes Saturday’s section championship victory was two years in the making. He’s right.

After a shortened 2021 season where they went 13-1, the Warriors burst back onto the small school softball scene in 2022 with 19 wins, the most in 15 years. They earned a No. 3 seed in the Division IV playoffs, earning a first-round bye before beating Escalon in the quarterfinals. They fell to No. 2 Marysville in the section semifinals in heartbreaking fashion on an overthrow.

After losing just two seniors, the Warriors returned their ace, Lujan, who won 11 games last season and led the team in batting average, hits, RBIs and doubles, and Joslyn Sotelo, the team’s leader in home runs who also finished second in RBIs and doubles.

Lujan earlier this season broke the school’s career strikeouts record and also set a new single season high, resetting the record after she broke it as a junior.

She finished the season with 21 wins and a team-best .539 batting average. Sotelo was big all season along with senior Mia Garcia. The team also relied heavily on underclassmen Mariah Avila, Hailey Starr and Hannah Taft.

The softball players at Orestimba are as talented off the field as they are on. Nearly every member of the team plays at least one other sport — some play two. They are involved in student council, Link Crew — a program that connects older students with underclassmen, showing them around campus and helping them get adjusted to high school — and Future Farmers of America.

“We try to do our best to stay involved in our school and then the more we are involved, the more we get their support.” Lujan said.

This year, they finished with their first 20-win season since 2008 and went unbeaten in Southern League play for the second consecutive year.

They earned a No. 4 seed in the Division V playoffs and faced off against the team that put them out last year. They beat Marysville, 6-3.

“I just told the girls they had to be in a positive mindset coming into the game,” Marroquin said of the rematch against Marysville. “Knowing that this year we were at home, we felt we had a bit of an advantage ... but it was pretty much about preparing mentally for that game.”

They faced top-seeded Sutter in the semifinals which, in its first year in the Sac-Joaquin Section after being a member of the Northern Section, won the Pioneer Valley League and was a top 10 team in the section according to MaxPreps.

Lujan pitched a complete game shutout with 12 strikeouts and sophomore Hannah Taft had a three-run triple as part of a four-run top of the ninth inning to secure a 4-0 extra-innings win to send the Warriors to the championship.

“It took us going out and not giving up,” Lujan said. “We kept telling each other it’s a dog fight. The team that wants it more is gonna come out on top.”

Making school history

It was only fitting that the players involved in the final out of Saturday’s section title game were both seniors.

Lujan delivered a 0-1 pitch to Zereniti Sousa who popped the ball up to the right side of the diamond. Sotelo, who plays first base, took a couple steps forward, settling just in front of the base under the high pop up to record the game’s final out.

Lujan, Sotelo and Garcia finally accomplished their goal.

“That pop fly showed the three seniors that ... in our senior year, we went out with a bang,” Lujan said. “That’s a moment I’m gonna remember forever and I know it’s a moment that she’ll hold dear to her. You don’t get that opportunity much and for us to get it in our senior year, it feels 10 times better than it would have had it been any other year.”

On Saturday, the Warriors made history. In winning the section title, they became the first team in school history to qualify for the Northern California Regional Championships.

Softball just added the tournament last year, giving section champions from each section in Northern California the opportunity to play for a regional title. Brackets will be released Sunday, May 28 and the first game will be Tuesday, May 30 at 4 p.m. The higher-seeded school will host.

“They knew when we won sections that we were going to continue and that we still had a possibility of three more games. These girls love softball,” said Marroquin. “We won’t know who we play until Sunday, but we’re just excited for the opportunity and hopefully we can be successful.”

The CIF seeds teams based on competitive equity for its regional playoffs meaning Orestimba could compete in a division as high as Division III for NorCals.

“It feels great. We’re making history,” Lujan said. “We’re going to be the first ones in Orestimba history to go and we’re hoping to be the first ones to advance.”