Chatsworth softball falls to Coastal Academy in CIF regional championship game – Daily News

Chatsworth #12 catcher Sophia Cast, right, takes a throw as Coastal Academy’s Cayla Contreras scores a run during the CIF SoCal Regional Division V championship game on Saturday in Chatsworth CA. June 1, 2024 (Photo by Gene Blevins, contributing photographer)

CHATSWORTH – The Chatsworth softball team’s hot streak finally cooled with an 11-6 loss to Coastal Academy in the CIF Southern California Regional Division V championship game Saturday afternoon.

Despite the setback, the Chancellors’ season heralded a bright future.

Prior to the regional playoffs, Chatsworth entered the CIF Los Angeles City Section playoffs as the number one seed in Division II. The Chancellors outscored their opponents 35-4 to claim the City Section title and earn the No. 1 seed in Division V of the regional championship.

“We were living for the playoffs,” Chancellors head coach Niccole Ryan said. “Our league was very tough. We played against really big, talented schools, so we were living by praying to get to Division II and play against schools our size. We work hard to replicate situations where children would be under pressure. “We’ve never done that with this team, so it was great to see how the results changed for us.”

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Here at Chatsworth High School as the Chatsworth Lady Chancellors softball team prepares to take on the Coastal Academy Stingrays for the CIF SoCal Division 5 Regional Championship. The game will start in about 10 minutes.@haleymsawyer @ChatsworthAD pic.twitter.com/km9UOUK486

—Ryan Menzie (@MenzieReporter) June 1, 2024

The Stingrays, who are from Oceanside, came out strong with an RBI double and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The Chancellors quickly responded with a run of their own on an RBI single from Lila Mashhoud.

Tough defense kept the score at 2-1 over the next three innings. The Chancellors were putting runners on base, but couldn’t take advantage.

It wasn’t until the fifth inning that the runs came flying. The Stingrays loaded the bases, scored in three consecutive at-bats and pushed the lead to 7-1.

“Our team came out and gave it their best effort,” Ryan said. “In the last two games we played with much lower level pitchers. It was difficult for us to adapt. “We made great plays in the outfield, our pitcher and catcher played very well together, but we came up short.”

In the bottom of the fifth, Chatsworth closed the gap to 7-4 with the key being Mashhoud’s two-run double.

In the sixth, the Stingrays extended their lead to 11-4 and the key blow was pitcher Sofia Tillis’ three-run home run.

The Chancellors gave one last gasp in the seventh inning, scoring two runs on a single by Sophia Castro and a sacrifice fly by Izellah Saldate-Gomez, but it wasn’t enough.

“We’re going to continue to build on our core values,” Ryan said. “Continue to build our program and hopefully attract more kids with softball experience. “We are going to strengthen our joint and varsity team and look to be competitive in Division I next year.”