Loomis Del Oro was the last team standing Saturday in the showdown of Sierra Foothill League softball rivals to decide the Northern California Regional Division 1 title.
The second-seeded Golden Eagles, who split regular-season clashes with top-seed Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills, rebounded from a heartbreaking one-run loss May 24 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 final to secure a 5-3 victory and the program’s first regional crown.
Del Oro (31-2) suffered its only losses to Oak Ridge (26-5), first by a 5-1 margin March 21 and then with a 3-2 setback in the section championship game at Sacramento State.
The Golden Eagles produced a 4-2 triumph April 23 against Oak Ridge, before handing the Trojans a loss in the Division 1 regional final for the second year in a row, along with a 13-11 setback last season to Amador Valley.
Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills lost for the second year in a row in the Division 1 Northern California Regional softball final | Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge
Del Oro built a 3-0 advantage in the first inning, with an RBI single from Avyn Brower and a two-run double by Kate Brown.
Chloe Champas reached base on an infield single in the fourth, scoring Caelyn Campos from second for a 4-0 lead.
Brooklyn Paratore drove in a run in the fifth for Oak Ridge to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Paratore had three hits for the Trojans, including a double, and also scored a run in the seventh.
Emery Glaser added two hits and an RBI, with Carmen Montes de Oca also driving in a run for Oak Ridge, which also received two hits from Aly Watson, in addition to sophomores Arissa Jerrett and Molly Railey scoring runs.
The Trojans brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but despite allowing 11 hits, sophomore Mikayla Finn was able to preserve the victory for Del Oro.
Finn, a left-hander, surrendered only one earned run and struck out three, pitching her third complete game in five days in the Northern California Regional for the Golden Eagles.
Campos, a freshman, had three doubles and scored twice, with Champas also collecting three hits and scoring a run for Del Oro.
The Golden Eagles also received a double and a run from Brower, as well as a hit and a run by freshman Emma Johnson and a hit from sophomore Nancy Barberio against Oak Ridge senior pitcher Ellison Schroeder.
Both teams had players unavailable Saturday as a result of travel ball commitments, in addition Utah Tech-bound outfielder Abby Davidson not competing for Del Oro since she was attending a senior trip in Europe.