Emily Morici tossed a one-hitter and went three for four at the plate, and senior Anastasia Brunner went three for four with a lead-off homer to lead Dos Pueblos to a 5-1 second-round CIF-SS Division 3 playoff win over La Salle.
Dos Pueblis will travel to Villa Park on Wednesday for their quarterfinal game.
Brunner wasted no time getting the Chargers on the board with a towering shot over the left center-field fence on the third pitch of the game.
“Offensively, I asked the girls to try to send a message early. There’s no better message than putting one over the fence on the third pitch,” said Dos Pueblos coach Mike Gerken. “Kyanne Bechler had a great game in the eight-spot today. She’s been so consistent all year, especially when we have runners on and need to make something happen. I’m really proud of the year she’s having.”
In the second, Vereniki Maniadi doubled. Pinch runner Sophia Munoz then scored when Bechler’s shot to second bounced off the second baseman’s glove and rolled to the fence. Bechler reached third on the play. A double play by La Salle erased the Chargers’ threat to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Morici was cruising, striking out seven of the first nine batters she faced. She ended the day with 13 strikeouts, surpassing the 200-strikeout mark for the year.
La Salle held down the Dos Pueblos offense until the sixth inning when Morici led off with her second double of the day. A two-out walk and a hit batter loaded the bases for Bechler, who hit a single to center, driving in two runs to give Dos Pueblos a 4-0 lead.
La Salle broke up Morici’s no-hit bid with a two-out homer in the sixth. Dos Pueblos got the run right back in the seventh with three straight singles by Brunner, Zella Cassidy, and Morici.
Morici struck out the lead off batter in the bottom of the seventh. An error put a runner on first, but Cassidy snagged a line drive at short and doubled off the runner to end the game and send the Chargers into the next round.
“I cannot say enough good things about Emily and catcher Kacey Hurley,” said Dos Pueblos coach Mike Gerken. “They are both so in tune with each other after 20-plus games together. Kacey calls a great game and when Emily is on, like she was today, we get a lot of strikeouts.”
