Casillas' three-run blasts sends San Mateo to championship game

BAKERSFIELD - The College of San Mateo showcased their power, blasting a pair of home runs to defeat Mt. San Antonio College 4-1 in the CCCAA semifinals Saturday afternoon. 

The Bulldogs will play in the championship game tomorrow at noon. They await the results of the final two games today to find out if they will face Mt. SAC, Sierra College, or Cypress College.

The winner's bracket seminal game pitted the top two teams in the tournament in the Northern California #1 seed Bulldogs and the Southern California #1 seed Mounties.

San Mateo got its bats going early, needing just one batter to take the opening 1-0. Leadoff hitter Lafu Malepeai showed why she was voted the Northern California Player of the Year when she launched a shot over the centerfield fence to give the Bulldogs the early edge.

In the next inning, Chloe Moffitt and Gabi Perez each drew walks, and the duo pulled off a double steal to get into scoring position. That brought up Celeste Casillas who went yard over the centerfield fence to score Moffitt and pinch-runner Leila Velasquez to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Mounties got on the board in the top of the third when Desiree Bravo drove in Asia Chacon with a double to left field. But that was all the scoring Mt. SAC could generate. The Mounties will play at 6 p.m. today against the winner of Sierra College and Cypress College. The Wolverines and Chargers face off at 3 p.m. today.

Moffitt pitched four and a third inning of relief allowing just one hit to pick up the win and improve her record to 22-0. Serena Navarrete pitched four and two-thirds innings of relief for Mt. SAC, striking out five with just two hits in the effort.

(Anthony Avila, CCCAA)