Valencia Vikings Softball Wins CIF Championship

It was a long drive to get to Irvine to watch the championship game between Valencia and Hart in Irvine, but well worth it. Up until the 5th inning the game was scoreless. Both teams had opportunities to score that didn’t pan out until Ish stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 5th. With 2 outs and a runner on third Alyssa ‘Ish’ Ishibashi knew what she had to do. Just like in the game 2 weeks prior vs Marina High, Alyssa brought in the winning run. With a short fly ball to right field off a change up, the Vikings took a 1-0 lead thanks to their stud shortstop. It was awesome to see it and even better to see her mom’s excitement as she watched her daughter’s last high school game. The girl is just clutch.

With a 1-0 lead you could see the determination in Jordan Taylor’s face. There was no way she was giving up any runs now. After a minor breakdown in the 6th, Hart did have an opportunity to tie the game, but Jordan threw a pitch that resulted in a ground out to second to end the inning with 2 runners left on base for Hart.

The last inning went quick and Jordan ended her high school career with a strikeout. Par for the course and well deserved.

Congrats to the Vikings for winning Valencia’s 4th CIF Championship.

Hart has nothing to be ashamed of. They played tough and only giving up one run to the #1 ranked team in the nation is a good way to end their season. Hart’s team will see CIF play-offs again with Destiny Rodino at the helm of their ship. The lefty sophomore will have all eyes on her over the next two years as she will most likely move into the dominant roll that Jordan Taylor leaves behind.

Santa Clarita is a softball town. If you get a chance to watch the Women’s Softball World Series on ESPN today, you can see Tiffany Huff playing first base for Tennessee. Tiffany Huff graduated from Saugus high last year and is now playing in her first College World Series. Tennessee is undefeated in the tournament.