Vista, Oak Ridge win while Folsom loses in first round

Vista del Lago (8-15) opened the softball playoffs with a mild upset of Division 3 eight-seeded Ceres, 13-3. While the one-seed difference between the teams wasn't necessarily a big deal, what made this a surprising win was the 10 runs that separated the teams. The Eagles won the game in six innings. Vista scored six runs in the first inning and continued to add on from there, scoring runs in all but one inning. Vista had 15 hits in the game, led by their two seniors, as Harper Nikol homered, had two hits, scored two and drove in four while Tayler Dray doubled and had one RBI. Alayna Piexoto and Stacey Kraushar both had two hits and scored twice, while Charlotte Clemens and Ailis Harman both had two hits, scored two runs and knocked in one. Georgie Manchester, meanwhile, had three hits, drove in three runs and scored one time. Dray and Piexoto combined to allow three unearned runs on four hits and five strikeouts. "Tayler Dray pitched great," Vista coach Darcy Fujimoto said. "We got off to a great start and kept it rolling. We had 15 hits. It was a great team win." Vista advances to face top-seeded Destiny Christian Academy on Friday. In other playoff action in Division 1, Folsom (7-18), the No. 8 seed, played host to nine-seed McClatchy and lost 9-3. Sophie Green led off the game with a home run and later in the first inning Faith Best singled in Raygan Mercado, who had walked. The Bulldogs led 2-0 after one inning. However, McClatchy tied the game in the second and then scored four runs in the third inning, an inning in which the Bulldogs committed five errors. "We had one bad inning when we committed five errors and after that our energy died and McClatchy's energy skyrocketed," Folsom coach Sheena Jackson said. "After that inning, McClatchy seemed to want it more than us." Down 6-2 after the third inning, the Bulldogs scored one more run in the fourth when Devyn Huber hit a solo home run, but that's all the offense the Bulldogs could muster. "It was a good season," Jackson said. "I had a fantastic group of girls who enjoyed each other. They were a joy to coach. I can't say enough about the senior class (Best, Mercado, Green and Jordyn Moore). They changed the culture of the program to where we wanted it and that's huge. We're going to miss them but some other girls will now have opportunities to step up." Oak Ridge (13-10), the No. 4 seed, defeated Lincoln of Stockton, 5-2. The Trojans scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning and then held off Lincoln. Brooklyn Paratore drove in the team's first run with a single. Hayden Chua followed with a bunt single for another RBI. Paratore then scored on an error to put the Trojans in front 3-0. Aly Watson then scored on another Lincoln error before Eden Heald scored on Lincoln's third error of the inning. Kennedi Freeland allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four in the win. Chua and Paratore each had two hits for the Trojans, who advance to the second round on Friday and will host No. 5 seed Inderkum.