It took eight innings of work but by the end of the afternoon Saturday, Oakdale High School softball claimed their seventh CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Championship banner. In a thrilling championship game at Cosumnes River College; Oakdale outlasted Capital Christian 3-2 in extra innings to bring home the Division 3 Section title.
The standing room only crowd witnessed a pitching duel on Saturday afternoon, May 25 in the 2024 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Championship game. Raegen Everett pitched a complete game for Oakdale. Through her eight innings of work, she scattered five hits, allowed two earned runs, issued six walks and struck out 14 Capital Christian Cougars. The senior also had a run batted in. With the score 0-0 after seven innings, Oakdale scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning. A double by Morgan Wright started things off for the Mustangs. Presley Barnes also drove in a run to help the Mustangs. Oakdale had a total of just four hits in the win; hits by Wright, Jaelyn Lee, Audrey Romiti and Presley Barnes.
“This might be the most rewarding one,” said head coach Larry Loger of the Section crown. “These girls battled every time they stepped on the field.”
Loger also praised his eight seniors on the team.
“Those (seniors) have been through a lot and to see them succeed at this level is truly rewarding,” Loger said.
This was the 13th trip to the Section Finals for Oakdale.
“That in itself is impressive but to win seven and be runners-up in six of them is a feat in itself,” added Loger.
To recap the Division 3 tournament, Oakdale entered as the two seed. To reach the finals, Oakdale knocked off 15 seed Patterson, 7-2. Then they blanked 10 seed Vista del Lago, 2-0. In the semifinals they defeated Valley Oak League foe Manteca, the sixth seed, by a 2-1 decision. On the other side of the bracket, Capital Christian was the top seed in the tournament. They got past number 16 seed Wood, 2-1, in the opening round. They answered with a shutout win over eight seed Christian Brothers, 6-0. The semifinals saw the Cougars defeat number four seed Ponderosa by a 3-1 decision.
“They are a tough program led by a fantastic pitcher. It was a real battle and I am very proud of our girls and their efforts, not just for this game but how they played all season long,” Loger said. “I think things turned around after our Central Catholic game.”
Oakdale was able to advance to the 2024 CIF NorCal Softball Championship Tournament following its Section championship. They went in as the number six seed.
