St. Bonaventure and Agoura slug their way to Saturday's CIF-Southern Section semifinals

Janessa Brown and Hudson Ortiz slugged three-run home runs as the St. Bonaventure High softball team hit its way out of a five-run hole Thursday afternoon in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinals.

Azaria Aguilar also pitched 4.2 innings of relief without allowing an earned run as the second-seeded Seraphs rallied from a 7-2 deficit to beat host Linfield Christian, 10-8.

“Our girls got excited,” said St. Bonaventure coach Andy Gibson. “Once we tied the game, it was a different group.”

Ortiz was 2 for 3 with four RBIs and a run scored, Brown finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs and a run scored, Leea Martinez went 2 for 4 with two runs scored, and Rachel Godoy scored two runs.

St. Bonaventure (22-2-1) will host Cerritos-Valley Christian in Saturday’s semifinals at Ventura College.

The Seraphs trailed 7-2 after four innings, but Brown capped a five-run fifth with her three-run shot and Ortiz gave them the lead for good in the sixth.

“We have no seniors and only a couple juniors,” Gibson said. “Being young, you could see them for the first time thinking, ‘This team is beating us.’ We grew up in one inning.”

Linfield Christian loaded the bases with one out in bottom of the seventh inning, but Aguilar induced two pop-ups to end the game.

Chargers rally to reach semis

Agoura 9, Charter Oak 8: Jordy Charash’s two-out walk-off double down the left-field line in the bottom of the seventh scored Mia Gomez from first as Agoura defeated Charter Oaks 9-9 in the Division 3 quarterfinals to advance to its first sectional semifinal in more than 20 years.

Gomez reached base four times, slugged a solo home run and scored three runs as the Chargers battled back from an early 3-0 hole and a late 8-7 deficit.

“We got down a couple times today and came right back again,” said Agoura coach Chance Redmond. “Some good players and good fortune have combined to help us achieve this monumental level.”

Eight Chargers had hits and seven drove in runs for Agoura (14-7), which has scored nine runs in each of its three postseason wins.

Vying for its first sectional final berth since 1990, Agoura hosts Riverside-King in Saturday’s semifinals at 3:15 p.m.

Rylee Redmond was 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Jayden Pollon went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Charash was 2 for 4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Amaya Del Olmo finished 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Aurelia Ehry was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

“It’s a special group of kids,” Redmond said. “They just always compete.”

More: Oaks Christian boys lacrosse team, Foothill Tech boys tennis team reach CIF-SS finals

Down 3-1, Agoura took a 6-3 lead with a five-run third inning, which included RBI singles by Del Olmo, Pollon and Claire Heisinger.

After Charter Oak tied the game 6-6 with a three-run top of the fourth, Gomez’s solo shot put the Chargers back ahead, 7-6, in the bottom half of the inning.

Down 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth, Agoura tied the game on Ehry’s RBI double to center field.

The game was tied 7-7 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when Charter Oak opted to intentionally walk Gomez with the bases clear. She came around from first to score the winning run when Charash’s double down the left-field line took an Agoura bounce off the fence.

“(Gomez) just put her head down and ram,” Redmond said.

Three local teams lose

Garden Grove-Pacifica 13, Oaks Christian 2: Ilove’a Brittingham slugged her 19th home run of the season, but Oaks Christian fell to visiting Garden Grove-Pacifica in the Division 1 quarterfinals.

Second-seeded Pacifica (24-2), the defending Division 1 champion, is the No. 4-ranked team in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

Brittingham finished 2 for 4 and Lily Knox went 2 for 2 with a double and a run scored for Oaks Christian (22-5).

Rylee McCoy, Kamryn Guthrie and Sienna Reynolds also had hits for the Lions.

Cerritos-Gahr 7, Rio Mesa 0: Analia Lopez and Keira Barry were both 2 for 3, but Rio Mesa was eliminated by visiting Cerritos-Gahr in the Division 2 quarterfinals.

Rio Mesa had seven hits, but was shut out for the third time this season. Gahr broke the game open with a five-run third inning.

Liberty 20, Grace Brethren 1: Liberty churned out 19 hits in a rout of host Grace Brethren in the Division 5 quarterfinals. Rosemary Salazar was 2 for 3 with a solo home run in the third inning for the only run for the Lancers (18-4-1).

Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: St. Bonaventure, Agoura power their way to CIF-SS softball semifinals