PETALUMA, Calif. – The last time the Casa Grande softball team won a CIF North Coast Section softball championship the section was split into East Bay and Redwood Empire divisions.
Now, after an impressive 5-0 semifinal victory on Tuesday by the host and second-seeded Gauchos over No. 3 seed Alameda, Casa Grande (24-4) try to earn a third NCS championship and first since it won the 2001 Redwood Empire 3A crown. The Gauchos first NCS title came in 1998 in the 2A Redwood Empire Division. They did play for the 2A Redwood Empire crown in 2003 but lost to San Marin-Novato
Casa Grande has been known for a strong baseball program but the softball team has been off the radar screen for quite some time. That is until Hawaii-committed senior slugger Jamie McGaughey was joined by some blossoming underclass talent that can get it done at the plate and in the circle.
There was no shortage of stars for Casa Grande in the Alameda victory, but sophomore pitcher Georgia Moss would have to get the game ball for her performance after tossing a three-hitter with nine strikeouts and a lone walk.
Moss did have to pitch out of a couple of tight spots, but after the last Alameda base runner reached on an error and was sacrificed to second in the top of the fifth inning, she mowed down the final eight Hornets batters with three coming by way of strikeouts, including the final two batters. Moss now improves her record to 9-1 with a 1.71 ERA.
“That might be the best I’ve seen her pitch all season,” Casa Grande head coach Billy Brody said. “She was really hitting her spots.”
Despite the one error, the Gauchos defense backed up Moss all game, and the bats came through as well.
“I just trust my defense behind me because there’s only so much I can do,” said Moss, who also had a double as a batter. “I can’t control the hitter, so I just know that my defense will have my back behind me and if something happens, I know that my bats in the dugout will have my back.”
It didn’t take long for the bats to come alive. Freshman Abby McSweeney led off the second inning with a solo home run to dead center field in what would turn out to be the only run Moss needed. It was her sixth round-tripper of the season. Sophomore Lila Partridge, who is also the other Gauchos pitcher and has a 14-2 record, blasted a high, towering shot to left-centerfield to lead off the fourth. It was her 10th home run of the season.
The Gauchos added three runs in the bottom of the sixth by virtue of an Alameda defense that faltered.
McGaughey, who leads the NCS in home runs with 11, didn’t have a hit against Alameda (18-6), but in this game her big bat wasn’t needed.
“The best part about this game for me was our 1-2-3 hitters didn’t do anything today, but guess what? Four-5-6 did,” Brody said. “Up and down the lineup, these girls believe in each other.”
For her part McGaughey is itching for a section title.
“Obviously with COVID, I didn’t get the full amount of years I wanted to play softball here,” she said. “I think going out with a title as a senior and always wanting that so bad but not really having the opportunity, I think that’s something that would literally mean the world to me.”
To win an NCS championship Casa Grande will have to beat a Livermore team that defeated them 4-0 in the D2 quarterfinals last season. Fifth-seeded Livermore was an 8-2 winner on Tuesday over top seeded Redwood-Larkspur.
The game will be at San Marin-Novato at 5:00pm on Friday.