Vista falls to Destiny Christian, Oak Ridge advances

Vista del Lago's softball season had its ups and downs, but the team got as far as they were expected in the Division 3 playoffs. Playing top-seeded and undefeated Destiny Christian on Friday, the Eagles, the No. 9 seed, lost 12-0 and saw their season come to an end with a 8-16 record. The Eagles only managed one hit, a leadoff double by Jillian McGuire in the fourth inning, but couldn't bring her around to score. Meanwhile, the Lions had nine hits, including a grand slam off the bat of LSU-commit Ayla Tuua, which would have cleared the fence if it was 25 feet further back. What was disappointing to Vista coach Darcy Fujimoto was the Eagles' defense, which committed five errors. "We could have hung in there a little longer," Fujimoto said. "We gave up five runs with two outs. We also had three errors and then the big blast. That's just generational talent." The Eagles were not expected to win the game, after all the Lions are not only the top-seed in Division 3 but also undefeated on the season. Vista, meanwhile, only has two seniors on the roster, Tayler Dray and Harper Nikol. "Afterwards we talked about how young we were and that we wanted the girls to keep working hard during the travel ball season," Fujimoto said. "When the opportunity arises, they need to take advantage of that opportunity. "Also, there were some young, immature attitudes this season that were kind of a downer. I said hopefully they would clean that up. If they're looking to play at the next level and a coach comes to me and asks about them, I'm going to be truthful; that's just the way it is. That's how athletics work." Not having a junior varsity team put Fujimoto in a tough spot, having to carry eight girls that should have been playing junior varsity softball. He said he hopes to have enough players to have a junior varsity team next season. In other playoff action, No. 4 seed in Division 1, Oak Ridge, defeated Inderkum, the fifth seed, 4-0. Oak Ridge (14-10) advanced to Tuesday's semifinal where they will play Sierra Foothill League rival Whitney. The team's played each other twice this season with each team winning, 3-1, on the other team's home field. Oak Ridge scored one run in the third. Camdyn Glaser walked and was replaced on the basepaths by Bella Reed. A walk to Hayden Chua pushed Reed to second and she then scored on Brooklyn Paratore's single to left field. Oak Ridge scored the other three runs in the fifth inning when Paratore singled in two more runs and Stella Reichard then stole home for the team's final run. Kennedi Freeland pitched a magnificent game, as she allowed only three hits and struck out 12.