Del Oro rallies past Rocklin to reach D2 final

Two of the Sac-Joaquin Section's top softball programs met Tuesday afternoon with a trip to the Division II championship game on the line as No. 2 Del Oro hosted No. 3 Rocklin in a semifinal matchup between Sierra Foothill League rivals ranked among the top five teams in the section and top 15 in the state. Del Oro, which beat Rocklin (21-6) twice in the regular season, scored in the fifth and sixth innings, and freshman Kat Popovski delivered a clutch relief outing to help seal a 4-2 victory and send the Golden Eagles (20-7) back to the section final. Del Oro's offensive surge came in the fifth inning, when sophomore slugger Emma Johnson belted a two-run homer to right field to tie the score 2-2. It was the breakthrough the Golden Eagles chased all afternoon, and it sized the momentum. "First two at-bats I saw a couple good pitches that I took and swung at a couple bad ones," said Johnson. "I made my adjustment through the at-bats, and then last at-bat, I was just looking for my pitch, and I got it." "Emma's one of our leaders, and she's only a sophomore, but her bat is big, and it talks loud," Del Oro coach Sean Erickson said. "She has spent the season gathering an incredible batting average, an unbelievable number of home runs, more doubles, triples and home runs than base hits. She is an inspirational leader behind the plate." Johnson's production became so difficult for opponents to navigate that Erickson adjusted the lineup multiple times in an effort to get her more opportunities at the plate. "She started the season hitting fourth, moved her to third, and because they kept walking her. She has 10 intentional walks on the season in 27 games. I have to find a way to get that to stop," Erickson said. "So I moved her all the way to the two-hole." The move, Erickson explained, was designed to maximize the number of at-bats for one of the area's most dangerous hitters. "When you put a big hitter like that with that kind of power, you're basically copying Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees and trying to get that batter two more reps a game than the bottom of the order, one more rep every game than the middle of the order," Erickson said. Batting ninth, Chloe Champas came through with the decisive hit in the sixth inning, lining a two-run single to give Del Oro its first lead. "I kind of had a green light in that situation. I was just waiting for anything close. I knew I had to get the job done," said Champas. "It was a little nerve-wracking going up there, bases loaded with two outs, but I got my pitch, and I got the job done." Champas is not a typical hitter in the bottom of the order. She entered Tuesday's game batting .300 on the season with 14 RBIs. She hit .492 last year as a junior. "We asked her on four occasions this year to hit in the nine hole, that's a one-two hitter, and all four occasions in that nine hole she has come up with that big of a hit, and did it again today," Erickson said. "We've had her at the one, we've had her at the two. Senior Day she was at the one because she's a senior, had two hits. Had her nine-hole four times, and in all four games has come up with an exceptional couple of at-bats." Erickson also split pitching duties between junior Cal commit Mikayla Finn and Popovski. Finn started, but since it was her third time facing Rocklin and she was recovering from illness, Erickson said he wanted to give the Thunder a different look. "It really all starts with Mikayla. I thought she did a great job today. She missed 10 days with pneumonia, but she came back and told me, 'I'm good to go coach,' " said Erickson. "Katherine also did a wonderful job for us while she was out, so it gave me confidence in what both of them could do for us tonight. We talked about it prior to the game, that it was the strategy of the game. Mikayla lived up to her end of it. Katherine lived up to her end of it as well." Finn allowed two runs and three hits with four strikeouts in four innings. Popovski earned the win and allowed four hits in three shutout innings. The freshman retired Rocklin's leadoff hitter to end the game with the tying run on base. "I just had to stay focused, play my game ... hit my pitches and spin the ball," said Popovski. "I had to conquer this team, pitch by pitch. Coach Sean calls me a bulldog and I'm here for it." Rocklin junior Payton Prior, coming off a perfect game in the quarterfinals against Merced, turned in another strong performance. Prior limited Del Oro to five hits and struck out seven in six innings. Sophomore Carissa Wilson had three hits for the Thunder, and freshman Renee Dragseth drove in both runs. Rocklin fell just short of reaching the section championship game for a third consecutive year. Del Oro will now get a chance to avenge last season's section title loss when it faces No. 4 Elk Grove for the Division II title Saturday at Sacramento State. Despite going on to win the NorCal title last season, the Golden Eagles have carried the sting of last year's section championship defeat throughout this season and will look to finish the job this time around. Said Johnson, ""It feels great to get back. I think we have a lot of confidence going into it."