IRVINE — When San Marcos made good contact on the pitches from Santa Fe ace Jessica Lopez, the balls were hit right at the fielders.
That’s the way things went for the Royals in Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 4 softball championship game. Lopez threw a no-hitter and the Chiefs capitalized on a fourth-inning error to score two runs and added a solo homer in the sixth to win the title 3-0 at Deanna Manning Park in Irvine.
It’s the second straight year San Marcos has gone hitless in the final. The Royals (21-10) lost to Buena in last year’s title game.
The Royals ran into a hot pitcher. The no-no was the third in the playoffs for Lopez, who also did it against Sierra Canyon in the second round and Oak Hills in the quarterfinals.
“Three runs in five playoff games, four hits total, it’s unheard of, especially in the playoffs,” said Santa Fe coach A.J. Reyes.
Lopez, a senior right-hander, allowed just five base runners (three walks, a hit batter and an error) and none of them reached third base. She effectively mixed up her pitches, took advantage of a wide strike zone and got several Royals to fly out — there were just three ground ball outs. She struck out nine.
“We chased a few pitches up and then we didn’t understand during the game that, ‘Hey, if (the umpire) is going to give her that ‘river pitch,’ we got to go for it,’” San Marcos coach Jeff Swann said.
“It was a little too late for us to get those, obviously, at the end of the game. Hat’s off to her, she pitched a great game. We didn’t make the adjustments we generally do in the game.”
Lopez received stellar play from her outfield, especially left fielder America Rangel, who made three of the last six putouts, including a diving catch of Paige Powell’s short fly for the last out of the game.
“I just wanted to pitch and have my team’s back the whole time because I know they’re going to have my back,” said Lopez.
Lopez and San Marcos senior Aliyah Huerta-Leipner were engaged in a scoreless duel until the fourth inning.
Maiya Lopez led off the top of the fourth with a hard grounder to second base that San Marcos booted.
“We knew when we got to the field here, it’s super hard,” Swann said. “(The ball is) going to make many bounces. They put the bat on the ball and forced us to make those plays.”
San Marcos is CIF D4 softball runners-up. Royals fall to Santa Fe 3-0 in title game pic.twitter.com/Dxu57K3FHb
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Alizah Ayon of Santa Fe (22-7) drew a walk, but Huerta-Leipner got the next two batters on a foul pop-up to catcher Morgan Jensen and a fly out to right fielder Allie Fryklund. A wild pitch advanced the runners before Samantha Mancillas lined a single to right to bring home two runs.
“It pushed the momentum toward us,” Reyes said of Ayon’s clutch hit. “It gave a little more spark to Jessica, and the rest happened. In the sixth Alizah comes up and hits the ball (over the fence). It’s her first home run of the tournament, which is real special.”
Ayon’s 225-foot blast over the left-field fence led off the sixth inning.
“It was a rise ball,” Huerta-Lepiner said. “They just recognized it, and props to her for hitting it.”
Huerta-Leipner allowed just four hits in the game and struck out eight.
Santa Fe left fielder America Rangel makes diving catch of Paige Powell short fly to preserve no-hitter and 3-0 win for CIF Div. 4 softball title pic.twitter.com/m79OP2Zude
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“Win lose our draw in this game, I’m so proud of this team for doing what we’ve done here,” said Swann. “AJ has really carried the load for us down the stretch here. I trust her immensely in the circle. She carried the load this whole postseason for us.”
While disappointed to finish as runner-up, the Boston University-bound Huerta-Leipner said the experience of returning to the finals made it a special season.
“To get to this point is amazing and to do it with these girls is the best experience ever,” she said. “Obviously, we wanted to win. We fought really hard and that’s all you can ask for from your teammates.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.