Orange Lutheran softball shows ‘fight’ in defeating Canyon in Division 1 quarterfinals

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Pitcher Brianne Weiss (9), left, and Kai Minor (2) of Orange Lutheran celebrate after defeating Canyon in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 softball playoffs at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Orange Lutheran’s softball team continued to display its resiliency Thursday in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals.

The Lancers overcame another challenge by pushing aside injuries, leaping in front of the outfield fence and making contact against a pitcher known for her spin.

And ace Brianne Weiss cooled off Canyon late.

Zara Mineo-Schrank drove in three runs, Kai Minor made a spectacular jumping catch in center and Weiss finished strong to lead the top-seeded Lancers to a 7-4 victory at Orange Lutheran High.

In advancing to Saturday’s semifinal at Murrieta Mesa, Orange Lutheran (20-3) rallied after a three-run home run by Canyon’s Sam Gresham, scoring six unanswered runs to take a 7-3 lead into the seventh inning.

Weiss sealed the Lancers’ first trip to the Division 1 semifinals since 2017 by inducing a popout with the potential tying run at the plate.

“Not everybody thinks we can win this but we can and we show it out on the field,” said Minor, an Oklahoma commit who scored the go-ahead run in the third on a headfirst slide on a sacrifice fly.

“No matter what, we’re still going to come back,” the junior added. “(We’re) fighting for Bri and our team.”

Gresham, a junior center fielder committed to Dartmouth, gave Canyon a 3-1 lead with her home run in the third.

But Orange Lutheran, which trailed Capistrano Valley on Tuesday before walking away with an 11-7 victory, answered in the bottom half of the inning by scoring off an error and sacrifice flies by Mineo-Schrank and shortstop Madelyn Armendariz. The three runs gave the Lancers a 4-3 lead.

“Every time I’m in the dugout and (the other team) scores, the first thing I say in my head is, ‘We got to get that momentum back,’ ” Mineo-Schrank said. “And in that inning, we kind of did that.”

Mineo-Schrank, who left Tuesday’s game with a pinched nerve in her neck, had a RBI single in the first and RBI double in fifth.

The senior’s double was the Lancers’ only extra-base hit against Canyon junior Jordan Simmons, who pitched five strong innings.

The Lancers didn’t strike out much (three times) against Simmons and combined their efforts for a few infield singles and a bunt single.

“We’re a contact team,” Orange Lutheran coach Steve Miklos said. “We don’t hit that many home runs but we score a lot of runs and we do it throughout the lineup. We don’t fall off.”

Miklos pointed to the Alejandra Rodriguez’s at-bat in the sixth. The No. 9 batter in the lineup, the senior fouled off seven pitches before reaching on a two-out error after an 11-pitch at-bat. Senior Mya Diaz, who was hit by a pitch Tuesday, followed with a two-out, two-run double to extend the Lancers’ lead to 7-3.

“That was the best at-bat of the day,” Miklos said of Rodriguez.

The catch of the day belonged to Minor, who leaped in front of the fence in the second to rob Sophia Sandoval of at least an extra-base hit with a runner on first.

The Comanches (25-5) suffered a second blow on the play as its base runner was ruled out for not touching second base on the retreat back to first base, Comanches coach Jess Carbajal said.

Canyon, ranked third in the county, pushed to the end. The Crestview League champion trimmed the Lancers’ lead to 7-4 in the seventh on a RBI single by Carson Cooper. The senior catcher and Gresham each finished with two hits apiece.

In other Division 1 games:

Pacifica 13, Oaks Christian 2: UCLA-bound shortstop Kaniya Bragg went 4 for 5 with home run and six RBIs and Micheala Meza went 4 for 5 with a double, triple and two RBIs to help lead the visiting Mariners (25-2). Pacifica plays at JSerra in the semifinals on Saturday.

JSerra 2, Great Oak 0: Freshman Abby Ford tossed a five-hitter with 13 strikeouts and freshman Angelina Jimenez hit a home run to lead the visiting Lions (18-13) to their first Division 1 semifinals appearance.

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