A stellar campaign came to a close for Oakdale on the softball diamond in the semifinal round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 playoffs.

Valley Oak League rival and No. 2 seed Central Catholic got the better of the No. 3 seed Lady Mustangs in the May 24 contest, hosted by the Raiders, winning the game by a 3-1 final.

Earlier rounds saw Oakdale overwhelm their opponents, shutting out No. 14 Beyer 10-0 in the May 17 first round and upending VOL foe Manteca, the No. 6 seed, by a 13-0 decision on May 19 in the quarterfinals. Both those games were at home.

Against Central in the semifinal round on the road, the Oakdale squad had to play from behind, as the Raiders jumped in front with a three-run bottom of the second. Oakdale scratched out a run in the top of the third but were frustrated the rest of the way, kept off the scoreboard.

Neither team scored again after plating runs in the early innings.

Oakdale had four hits on the day and one error; Central had three hits and no errors. Avery Brown drove in Oakdale’s lone run of the contest.

The teams met three times this season, twice in VOL play and then in the playoffs. Oakdale won the first game at home on April 8, a 1-0 nailbiter, and on May 10, Central took a 2-1 win in Modesto. Two weeks later, the Raiders got the playoff win, sending Oakdale home.

The varsity Lady Mustangs ended the season with a 26-3-1 overall record and went 11-1 in the Valley Oak League.

Central moved on to face Vista del Lago, the No. 4 seed, in the Section championship game on Saturday, May 28 at Delta College. It was a 7-5 win for the Vista del Lago Eagles in that game, capturing the blue banner.