Cypress, Saddleback, Fullerton Set for State Tournament

It’s a case of the expected, the unexpected and finally for the three Orange County teams in the community college state softball tournament starting Friday at Central Park in Fremont.

Cypress, the Orange Empire Conference champion, expected to get there. This is the eighth consecutive time the Chargers, under Coach Brad Pickler, have made it.

Saddleback’s berth was unexpected. The Gauchos finished fourth in the Orange Empire Conference and upset second-seeded Hancock on its home field in regional play.

Everyone at Fullerton breathed a sigh of relief when the Hornets finally got past Long Beach Saturday to reach the final eight for the first time since 1989.

Long Beach, the defending champion, had eliminated Fullerton in regional play in three of the last four years.

Cypress

Cypress figured to be down a little after sophomore pitcher Debbie Gaddu took a scholarship to Nicholls (La.) State and all-conference outfielder Rachelle Breig got married and decided to sit out the season just before the spring semester.

But the Chargers have a talented infield led by shortstop Christa Saindon, conference player of the year. Saindon is hitting .394 with seven doubles, 10 triples, nine home runs and 32 runs batted in.

Aimee Weathers (third base) is at .352 with 46 RBIs, Lise Delligatta (first base) is at .371 with 41 RBIs and Autumn Gwinner (second base) is hitting .354 with 23 RBIs.

Stephanie Bloomingdale has added a tremendous amount of stability, catching every inning of Cypress’ 61 games.

Jamie Wilkes and Shana Rizzo, both freshmen, have provided solid pitching. Wilkes is 25-6 with an 0.68 earned-run average and Rizzo is 20-7 with an 0.92 ERA.

“They both exceeded our expectations,” Pickler said.

Cypress (47-14) opens against Merced (33-14) at noon Friday.

Saddleback

Saddleback finished fourth in the conference, but getting teams to achieve beyond expectations is a specialty of Coach Nick Trani, who is in his second year with the Gauchos.

He was at Orange Coast for six seasons and won two conference titles and reached the state tournament three times.

Saddleback faces the most difficult first-round challenge, when the Gauchos meet Sacramento (55-6) at noon.

“They can’t intimidate us,” Trani said. “It can’t be any tougher than going up to Hancock . . . This is the best defensive team I’ve had.”

Saddleback’s Misty Thompson, a shortstop, leads her team in hitting at .383 and has a team-high 23 RBIs and Christy Journell, an All-Southern California selection as an outfielder, is hitting .355 with 20 RBIs.

Treva Whitaker, a freshman third baseman, had two game-winning hits in regional games and is hitting .284 with 17 RBIs.

“You could just see her intensity,” Trani said, “in the regionals. The other players really picked up on that.”

Christina Loya, a catcher, is hitting .325 with 22 RBIs. Jodi Smith is 16-4 with a 1.43 ERA and Windy Scofield is 11-2 with an 0.79 ERA.

Fullerton

Fullerton advanced largely because of freshman pitcher and third baseman Kristy Osborne. She won all three games in the regional round to improve to 19-1.

“Basically,” Coach Lisa Bassi said, “she was going to throw until her arm fell off.”

Osborne, who is going to Oklahoma State next season, is hitting .355 with seven doubles, has scored 30 runs and driven in 21.

She was called on to pitch so much because Kristy Bonwell (12-4) has a sore back due to a car accident five weeks ago.

Lynette Velasquez, Fullerton’s third pitcher, is 4-5, but did shut out Cypress this season. She is also hitting .391 with 22 RBIs.

Cara Hatt is hitting .317 with 19 RBIs and Deborah Hargrave is at .302 and has stolen 16 of 19 bases.

Fullerton (35-10) opens with West Valley (45-8) at 2 p.m.

“It feels good to have gotten this far,” Bassi said, “because the coaching staff and players have worked so hard.”

Tournament Notes

Palomar (47-8) meets Solano (29-12) at 2 p.m. in the other first-round game. The first-round winners play at 5 and 7 p.m. on Friday and the losers come back at noon Saturday in the double-elimination format. The winners’ bracket final is at 7 p.m. Saturday and the title game is at noon Sunday.