The sparkle in Jazmin Daigle's eyes was matched only by the twinkle of her teeth – her smile stretching from Poway to south of El Cajon.
The Steele Canyon High freshman had just hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Cougars a 2-1 win over Ramona last night in the section Division III softball semifinals at Poway's Sportsplex USA.
The sound of the ball greeting the bat was eclipsed only by the uproar from Daigle's teammates.
“At first I was like, 'I just hit a home run,' ” Daigle said. “And then it was, 'Wait. We're going to the championship.' Then they kind of ambushed me.”
At the center of the postgame melee?
Steele Canyon coach Julie Bohe, who's led the team since the inception of the Cougars program in 2002.
“I'm proud to have coached this team from the beginning, from the ground up,” Bohe said. “I don't feel like a player, but I wish I was out there sometimes.”
While a freshman proved heroic, the team's lone senior put the Cougars in position to win. Steele Canyon was down 1-0 until Angela Harris tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.
Steele Canyon (22-9) will take on Cathedral Catholic (22-8) in the championship game tomorrow at San Diego State.
Division I
PATRICK HENRY 1, MIRA MESA 0: In winning its first two playoff games, Mira Mesa scored 29 runs combined. Against Patrick Henry's Donna Kerr, the Marauders didn't get any. Kerr struck out 11 and allowed four hits to help lead the Patriots (25-5), who pushed across the winning run when Ciera Ashman drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning.
ESCONDIDO 2, LA COSTA CANYON 0: Senior Sarah Akamine tossed a no-hitter for top-seeded Escondido (26-2).
Division II
WESTVIEW 7, EC SOUTHWEST 2: Westview (21-6-1) broke through with three runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth. Wolverines second baseman Gracey Sanchez opened the scoring with a two-run triple in the fourth.
SCRIPPS RANCH 3, SAN PASQUAL 0: Alexa Datko pitched a two-hitter for her second shutout in as many playoff games for Scripps Ranch (20-8-1). Carla Nava opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first, and Kelsey Sanchez added a two-run single in the sixth.
Division III
CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 1, SANTANA 0: Natalie Garrett pitched a one-hit shutout and drove in the only run for Cathedral, which ousted top-seeded Santana (28-5). The senior's slow-rolling bunt down the first base line in the fifth stayed fair just long enough to score teammate Alex Baldino. Cathedral left fielder Brooke Lewis chased down a 230-foot shot by Santana's Shae Bass in the bottom of the sixth to preserve the shutout.
Division IV
IMPERIAL 5, CHRISTIAN 4: With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jennifer Sanchez singled in Chelsey Jensen to give Imperial the win. Sanchez finished 2-for-4. Caschjen Davis struck out nine in the complete-game win for Imperial (22-5).
PARKER 6, MOUNTAIN EMPIRE 0: Top-seeded Francis Parker (22-1) managed only one hit but scored six runs. Kala McIntyre pitched a three-hit shutout.
Correspondents Glae Thien and Joshua Sandoval contributed to this report.
