Del Oro goes 2-3 at Carew Classic

The Del Oro High School softball team faced elite competition over spring break at the prestigious Michelle Carew Classic in Anaheim. Joining the Golden Eagles in the field were some of the top-ranked teams in the state and nation, and while they didn't bring home the title, they proved they can compete on the big stage. Del Oro opened the tournament with a 3-2 loss to Pomona-Ganesha on April 1 before defeating San Diego-Cathedral Catholic 6-4 that evening. The Golden Eagles overwhelmed Anaheim-Esperanza 16-0 in four innings on Friday then dropped an 11-10 extra-inning thriller to Central Catholic later in the day. Del Oro closed tournament play Saturday with a 6-2 loss to Riverside Poly. Avyn Brower led Del Oro with nine hits over five games, while Emma Johnson and Macey Davis each had seven hits. Caelyn Campos collected six and Avery Enyart had five. The run production was equally balanced. Emma Johnson and Brower each drove in seven runs while Chloe Champas had six RBIs. Enyart, Campos and Macey Davis each totaled four RBIs. Johnson did the bulk of her damage with her power, blasting three home runs. Enyart hit two homers. Brower and Kate Brown each homered as well, giving Del Oro seven long balls in the tournament. In the circle, freshman Katharine Popovski turned in one of Del Oro's strongest performances, going 2-1 with 15 strikeouts over 14⅓ innings, including the four-inning shutout against Esperanza. Mikayla Finn handled the bulk of the workload against the tournament's toughest lineups, logging 23⅓ innings with 19 strikeouts. The Golden Eagles returned to Loomis 10-6 overall. They will have a rematch with Central Catholic on Wednesday in Modesto in a nonleague contest before diving back into Sierra Foothill League play April 15 against Whitney.