Dos Pueblos softball dropped an extra-inning thriller to Riverside Prep by a score of 4-2 in the CIF-SS D3 Semifinals on Saturday at Okinaka Field in Goleta.
The Chargers tied the game up in the bottom of the seventh to send it to extra innings, but the Knights prevailed after two big swings in the top of the ninth inning. Riverside Prep will take on either Great Oak or North Torrance in the championship next week.
Dos Pueblos rounds out its strong 2026 campaign with an overall record of 21-7, including a co-Channel League championship in the regular season.
“I think [what made this team special] is the relationships that the teammates have with each other. I think it’s the fact that they’ve played a lot of softball together over the years from the time they were 7 years old to now,” Dos Pueblos head coach Mike Gerken said.
“The combination of the senior leadership with the younger girls who came in, who were very good players as well, I think a combination of all that created the kind of chemistry that you need to get to a spot this far in the playoffs.”
After Dos Pueblos freshman starter Emily Morici cruised through a 1-2-3 top of the first, the Chargers threatened in the bottom half but stranded the bases loaded to keep it a 0-0 game.
The two starters then settled in as the next nine batters were retired in order until Dos Pueblos broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third.
Senior Anastasia Brunner led off with a walk and made her way to third via a passed ball and a groundout. Following a pop-out, senior Kacey Hurley clutched up with a two-out double into the right-center field gap to take a 1-0 advantage.
“Kacey is a big game player,” Gerken said. “She’s got like 10 varsity letters or something like that, she’s an accomplished (flag) football player and a great soccer player. Her competitiveness level is like few players I’ve ever seen, and her athleticism as well. I knew she was going to come through in that situation.
“She is so mature and so poised behind the plate and in the batter’s box. That wasn’t a surprise for me at all.”
Riverside Prep had a chance to even the score in the fourth with a runner on third and two outs, but Morici buckled down and got a strikeout to maintain the lead.
The Knights continued to apply pressure in the top of the fifth, recording their first three hits of the game to load the bases with two outs.
However, once again Morici came through when it mattered and induced a groundout to escape the jam with the one-run lead intact.
“We expected [Morici] to keep them in check as she’s done throughout the playoffs,” Gerken said. “She is a gamer, a battler and she is a relentless competitor. We kind of thought that this was how the game was going to go.”
The Chargers had a golden opportunity to extend their lead in the bottom of the fifth when they loaded the bases with no outs. However, Riverside Prep pitcher Lila Morris responded with three consecutive strikeouts to strand all three baserunners.
The Knights carried that momentum into the sixth inning, as their offense woke up with two doubles and a pair of singles to tie the game and then take a 2-1 lead.
Dos Pueblos went scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, and Morici bounced back with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh to give her offense one last shot to tie things up.
After a leadoff groundout, Morici stepped to the plate and did it herself, blasting a game-tying solo homer over the left-field wall to make it 2-2 and send the home crowd into a frenzy. The next two batters were retired, sending the game into extra innings.
“Make no mistake, [Morici] gets a lot of the press for the pitching, but she is a complete player, and she could start anywhere on our field,” Gerken said. “When you talk about her at the plate, she’s torn it up in the last three games in the playoffs, and has been a big part of why we got to where we got.”
The eighth inning went scoreless as both pitchers got 1-2-3 frames, but Riverside Prep roared back with back-to-back solo homers in the ninth to take a 4-2 lead into the bottom half.
Morris ended her outing on a high note, striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth to help her team punch its ticket to the CIF-SS D3 Finals.
Hurley and sophomore Kyanne Bechler paced the Charger offense with two hits apiece, while Brunner reached base three times from the leadoff spot. In the circle, Morici struck out nine batters and surrendered just one walk.
Meanwhile, Morris racked up 15 strikeouts for the Knights on her way to the complete-game win.