San Lorenzo Valley High softball team earned the final spot in the Central Coast Section playoffs on Monday as the No. 8 seed in the Division V bracket.
They will travel over the hill to San Jose to play at top seed Silver Creek on Saturday.
The Cougars placed third in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League standings with an 8-7 record in league play this spring season.
The young group is led by veterans senior Sophia Sarmiento and junior Grace Purtscher.
Sarmiento is batting a .386 average with six doubles, 19 runs scored, six RBIs and 14 stolen bases, while Purtscher is batting a .377 with five doubles, one triple, 27 RBIs and 14 runs scored, according to the Max Preps website.
In the circle, Purtscher has a 2.75 earned run average while tallying 70 strikeouts. She currently owns a 7-7 overall record in 18 appearances.
SLV sophomores Elie Colby and Audrey Jouglet, along with freshman Skylar Cloyd have stepped up by filling in the vacant spots left by last year’s graduating class.
Colby is batting a team-best .420 average with four doubles, 21 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 12 stolen bases, while Jouglet is batting a .377 average with a pair of doubles, 17 RBIs, 12 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
Cloyd has been productive at the plate by batting a .390 average with two home runs, five doubles, 19 RBIs and 12 runs scored. She also recorded a 3.21 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 15 appearances in the circle.
SLV is coming off a 6-2 loss to SCCAL champion Aptos in last week’s regular season finale on May 14.
Sophomore Bailey Filice had one hit and scored one run for the Cougars, while teammate senior Ray Alvarez had one hit and one RBI. Colby scored one run, while Purtscher had one hit and one RBI.
Silver Creek placed fourth in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division with a 12-6 record in league play this season. They are led by power hitter senior Emma Tang, who is currently batting a .600 average with 10 home runs, 11 triples, five doubles and 39 RBIs.
Other top Raider players to watch for are seniors Malerie Ramirez and Jessenia “Taco” Garcia.
Ramirez is batting a .462 average with a pair of home runs, three triples, 10 doubles and 17 RBIs, while Garcia is batting a .405 average with five home runs, eight triples, five doubles and 34 RBIs.
Silver Creek freshman Ciana “CC” Arreola is batting a .378 average with three triples, nine doubles and 21 RBIs.
Leading the way in the circle is Raiders sophomore Evangelina Cuevas with a 4.41 ERA and 110 strikeouts. She currently owns a 16-7 overall record in 24 appearances, including eight complete games, one shutout and one no-hitter.
SLV (11-10-1, 8-7) plays at Silver Creek (17-8, 12-6) on Saturday at 11am.
Falcons cap off season with shutout win: Scotts Valley junior Lorelei Warner and senior Jazzy Phillips pitched a gem in the Falcons’ 9-0 shutout victory against Harbor in SCCAL play on May 14.
Warner tossed four hitless innings while tallying seven strikeouts, and Phillips allowed just two hits while recording eight strikeouts in three innings pitched.
Phillips also had one double, two RBIs and scored one run for the Falcons, who placed fourth in the SCCAL standings with an 8-7 record in league play.
Teammate senior Jessa Strong had a pair of hits, including one double and three RBIs, while junior Chloe Kent finished with a pair of hits, two RBIs and scored two runs.
Scotts Valley freshman Stella Van Every had one hit, one RBI and scored one run, while senior Sierra Finsthwait added one hit and one run. Sophomore Jillian Oing had one hit, one RBI and scored a pair of runs.
Seniors Isabella Williams and Brooklyn Williams each added one run for Scotts Valley, which finished with a 9-11-1 overall record this spring season.
High school track and field
SV athletes qualify for CCS finals: Scotts Valley seniors Aaron Weiss and Ava Decleve each advanced to the CCS Track and Field finals following a strong performance in the semifinals at Gilroy High on May 16.
Weiss placed fifth overall in the 800-meters in 1 minute, 56.4 seconds, while Decleve took second overall in the 800 in 2:12.28 and fourth in the 200 in 25.20 seconds.
Scotts Valley’s 4×800 relay team — Dylan Turzak, Lienna Hannaleck, Jennifer Brownfield and Decleve — placed 13th in 10:10.81, barely missing the 12th and final qualifying spot for the finals.
The CCS finals are set for Saturday afternoon at Gilroy High, starting with field events at 3pm and running events at 4:45pm.
