Dos Pueblos High softball shutout Crescenta Valley 5-0 in the opening round of the 2026 CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs on Friday at Dale Okinaka Field.
The Chargers held the Falcons scoreless, snapping Crescenta Valley’s four-game road winning streak.
Facing the Falcons (16-13) for the first time this season, the Chargers were fueled by the performance of freshman Emily Morici. Morici struck out 11 batters and surrendered no runs on three hits while walking just one, demonstrating her dominance in the circle.
“This is just another great performance in a season full of great performances,” Chargers head coach Mike Gerken said. “She challenges hitters, and more often than not, she ends up on the right side of things. When they put the ball in play, we make the plays behind her.”
Morici showcased her dominance midway through the game with back-to-back strikeouts in both the fourth and sixth innings.
“She’s been super consistent,” Gerken said. “Her strike-to-walk ratio is something I haven’t seen in a long time.”
After a quiet opening, the Chargers broke through in the bottom of the third, scoring all five of their runs. Juliana Brunner ignited the offense with a single. Brooklyn Hedrick followed shortly after with a powerful fly ball to center field, driving in two runs with the help of a defensive error.
“The fact that she hit the ball so hard and in such a clutch situation really contributed to us piling on some more runs there,” Gerken said. “We talked about trying to put pressure on their defense, and she certainly did that when the bases were loaded.”
Capitalizing on their momentum and holding a 3-0 lead, Dos Pueblos brought home two more runs in the third, aided by a Falcons error and a ground ball by Vereniki Maniadi.
The Falcons responded defensively with a double play in the bottom of the fifth. However, they were unable to capitalize offensively, as Morici retired the side in order in the top of the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, the Falcons attempted to build momentum when Addison Wong hit a double on a line drive to left field. However, Crescenta Valley was unable to capitalize and recorded two pop-outs to end the game.
With the victory, Dos Pueblos (19-6) advances to the second round and will face La Salle High School on Monday, May 18.
“Very well-disciplined team, well-coached team, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes,” Gerken said of La Salle. “Hopefully, we can put some pressure on them, like we did today, and keep moving forward.”
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, May 16, but was pushed back to Monday because of poor field conditions.
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