by Garland Cooper

The battle raged since before anyone can remember. A battle about which region of California is more dominating, the North or the South.

The South has Mexican food and famous surf while the North has trolleys and beautiful hills. The real question is: which region has the best softball?

At the ball field on Friday night, the debate raged on. In four games there was a Northern Calif., team competing against a Southern Calif., team. El Modena  (Orange, Calif.) faced Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.). Camarillo and Freedom (Oakley, Calif.) matched up as was Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) and Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.) and Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) and Rodriguez (Fairfield, Calif.).

All of these teams made it through to the quarterfinal round. The winners of these games would compete in the semifinal on Saturday and one of them would be the ultimate champion.

The score ended on Friday with the South winning the North vs. South debate with three out of the four wins in the quarterfinal round. The North, however, did not go down without a fight.

Sheldon High School was the only Northern Calif., team to win a quarterfinal game. Jolene Henderson was a force to be reckoned with for the Huskies. She is undefeated in the tournament and has not recorded less than 11 strikeouts in each of her wins. She is supported by teammate Lindsey Ziegenhirt, who is her catcher, and a big hitter for the Huskies. Ziegehirt was the hero in a tight, extra inning game in which she hit a walk-off homerun with two outs in the seventh inning.

Camarillo proved that they can play with the best, and they have done so with depth on the mound. Despite her youth, freshman Sarah Shadinger is pitching with the experience of a senior. She continues to keep games close for her team, which helped lead them to the semifinals. Jennifer Manuel also is in the circle for Camarillo and has continued to win games for Scorpions not only with her pitching, but with her hitting as well.

Canyon's all-star Cheyanne Tarango performed on the mound and at the plate. The Tennessee-bound sophomore took all the team's wins in the circle and is a threat at the plate. She hit a homerun and has several extra base hits in the tournament.

Lastly, Esperanza also has the ability to split their pitching with Chelsey Anderson and Alexis Borden, which gives them an edge over much of the competition. They have had offensive support throughout their lineup, and senior Kristin Sharkey leads the team with her rare ability to hit for power and for speed.

It was determined Friday night in Huntington Beach that, in the Faster to 1st Tournament, hosted by Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) High School, that the South wins over the North. However, Sheldon still has a chance to come back and take the championship trophy back to NorCal. The same championship that eluded them a year ago.

Which is the better region? The debate will never end, but for one night, the South reigned victorious over the North.
 

By Garland Cooper

Day two of the Faster to 1st Tournament, hosted by Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) High School followed the dramatic theme established on the opening day of the tournament.

Ten of the 16 games played were decided by one run and seven of the games went into extra innings. At the end of the day it is Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.), Sheldon (Sacremento, Calif.), Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) and Camarillo (Calif.) in the semifinal games Saturday. Stay tuned and find out who takes the title!

Piedra Vista 2 – Rodriguez 1
Channel Ewing scored two runs, Aurelia Sandoval went two for two, and Marissa Ellis had two RBIs for Piedra Vista. Despite the loss, Rodriguez was tough at the plate. Teanna Brooks went 3-for-3 and Andriana Collins tallied the only RBI for the team. Kiara Garcia, Cheyenne Cordes, and Nia Cesar all had a hit in the game.

Camarillo 2 - Cienega 1 
This barnburner lasted eight innings. Freshman Sarah Shadinger took the win on the mound and, despite a great pitching performance, Alexa Cash was the losing pitcher for Cienega.

Freedom 3 - Carl Sandburg 1
There was no score until the eighth inning when both teams got on the board. Freedom's Hannah Williams had 11 Ks on the mound to lead the team defensively. Susan Robertson and Chrissy Stalf led the push on offense with RBI singles in extra innings to put Freedom (Oakley, Calif.) on top.

Sunrise Mountain 8 – Chino 2
Dani Bonnet was on the mound for Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.) and had six strikeouts on the game. She also performed at the plate with four hits. Mickayla Heller was 2-for-3 with four RBIs in the game.

Sunnyslope 1 - Piedra Vista 0
Nora Maschue took the win on the mound to shutout Piedra Vista (Farmington, N.M.). Demetra Hamill was perfect at the plate with a double for Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Chelsea Yankolovich was two for four with a stolen base. Piedra Vista's Karista Donisthorpe was three for four in the leadoff spot.

	SCOTT KURTZ/ESPN RISE
	Lindsey Ziegenhirt is a big hitter for the Sheldon High School Huskies.

Carl Sandburg 4 - Cienega 3
In the eight-inning game, Emma Farrell went 3-for-4 with a walk and one run scored for Carl Sandburg (Orland Park, Ill.).

Vista Murrieta 4 – Chino 3
In the bottom of the seventh, Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.) played textbook softball to rally and defeated Chino (Calif.). Alexis Villamor led off with a double for the Broncos, bringing Sierra Romero to the plate. Romero laid down a bunt and Chino overthrew first base, scoring Villamor from second. With the game tied and Romero on second base, Taylor Edwards hit a shot to the shortstop, moving the runner to third. With two outs and the winning run at third base, big hitter Tatum Edwards shut the door with a hard groundball up the third baseline, scoring the final run and sealing the deal for the Broncos.

St. Francis 2 - Simi Valley 1
St. Francis (Honolulu, Hawaii) took their first win in the tournament in an eight-inning battle with Simi Valley (Calif.). All of the runs from both teams were scored in the final inning of the game.

Camarillo 1 - Freedom 0
Jennifer Manuel was the hero for Camarillo (Calif.), pitching all seven innings and driving in the only run in the first inning. Hannah Williams had 10 Ks in the loss and allowed no earned runs. Malena Padilla had two hits for Freedom (Oakley, Calif.).

Sheldon 4 – El Modeno 0
Jolene Henderson threw a no-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts for the Huskies. She also was 1-for-2 at the plate with a double. Lindsey Ziegenhirt remains solid in the lineup going 2-for-3 in the game with an RBI. Dejanee Moore also was two for three with an impressive three RBIs.

Norco 2 – Ayala 1
Teagan Gerhart was the star for Norco (Calif.) pitching all eight innings of the game, allowing only two hits, and striking out nine. She also drove in the winning run for the Cougars. Jessica Hall took the loss for Ayala (Chino Hills, Calif.).

Pacifica 1 – West Orange 0
In a tight game, pitcher Krystian Dewitt held strong, striking out 11 and allowing no earned runs for Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.). Cheyenne Mascarenas drove in the winning run in the eighth. For West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), Taylor Fawbush had 10 Ks in eight innings and allowed two hits. She also was 1-for-4 at the plate.

Esperanza 3 - Pleasant Grove 1
Alexis Borden was the winning pitcher for Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.). At the plate, Vanessa Weaver had an RBI and speedster Jasmine Lee had two stolen bases and scored two runs.

Canyon 4 - Rodriguez 0
Cheyanne Tarango took the win for Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) giving up only two hits and striking out 11. She also had an RBI double to score the first run of the game. Taylor Van Acker was 2-for-3. Andrinae White and Kiara Garcia were the only hits for Rodriguez (Fairfield, Calif.).

Valencia 4 – Sunrise Mountain 1
For Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.), Brigette DelPonte was 3-for-4 with a double and a homerun.

Hart 3 – El Toro 2
Lauren Chamberlain tripled for El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.) in the top of the seventh to tie up the game, 1-1. Emily Henry came the plate for Hart (Newhall, Calif.) in the bottom of the eighth and hit a two-run double to end the game.