Host Bulldogs advance to semifinals

Centennial had the perfect plan to finish a long and hot day of softball at Majestic Park on Friday.

Score early and often.

The Bulldogs' first three batters of the game all scored, and Centennial never looked back in an 8-1 win over Foothill in the Centennial Spring Jamboree.

Centennial, which won three games Friday, will face McQueen in a championship semifinal at 10 a.m. today. That winner advances to the title game at noon.

"That early lead really sparked us," Centennial coach Mike Livreri said. "We came out and swung the bats well."

Alyssa Rampa started the game with a single and scored on Katie Lee's double.

Run-scoring groundouts by Johnna Brown and Lindsay Konopelko gave Centennial all the runs it needed.

Centennial stretched its lead to 4-0 when Rampa stole home in the third.

The Bulldogs added four more runs, two on a double by Konopelko, in the sixth.

Lauren Lynds took care of the rest, pitching a four-hitter.

Lynds, who faced only five batters more than the minimum, struck out nine and walked one.

"She's been hitting her spots, and she fields her position really well," Livreri said. "She hasn't been giving up a string of hits."

Rampa was 3-for-3 and scored three runs.

Konopelko was 1-for-4 with three RBIs. Brown went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

"The top of our order has been doing really well, especially Lindsay," Livreri said. "We have some gap-to-gap hitters, and we have some power."

Shelbi Medrano's RBI single in the sixth inning spoiled the shutout bid.

In other championship bracket games:

• Foothill 3, Las Vegas 1 -- Myranda Mortel's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted Foothill past the Wildcats.

Medrano pitched a six-hitter for the Falcons.

• Arbor View 6, Galena 5 -- Savannah Webster's two-run single sparked a four-run sixth inning as Arbor View rallied past Galena.

Webster's hit tied the score at 4. Kayla Griffith followed with a run-scoring double to put the Aggies ahead. Chelsea Venable's squeeze bunt plated Webster to make it 6-4.

Galena scored a run in the top of the seventh and had runners at second and third with two outs, but Arbor View's Amanda Jones recorded a strikeout to end the game.

• McQueen 3, Arbor View 2 -- Shanice Stewart homered with one out in the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie and push McQueen into the semifinals.

Melissa Bohne had a two-run single for Arbor View.

• Palo Verde 13, Churchill (Ore.) 1 -- Amanda Montalto went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and six RBIs as Palo Verde rolled.

Lauryn Stover was 4-for-4 with a double for the Panthers.

Missy McCormick pitched a two-hitter for Palo Verde, which will play Damonte Ranch at 8 a.m. today in the lone remaining quarterfinal.

• Bloomington (Calif.) 14, Coronado 1 -- Anissa Young blasted a grand slam to help Bloomington break open the game.

The Bruins scored seven runs in the fourth inning and five in the sixth inning.

In pool play:

• Centennial 15, McQueen 8 -- Brown, Konopelko and Jordan Henzlik each homered for Centennial, which trailed 3-2 before scoring seven runs in the fifth inning.

• Damonte Ranch 5, Las Vegas 4 -- Tiffini Lucero was 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Las Vegas, but the Wildcats left 11 runners on base.

• Arbor View 12, Galena 8 -- Webster was 2-for-5 with a double and four RBIs for Arbor View, which scored seven runs in the sixth inning and withstood a late Galena rally.

• Damonte Ranch 6, Coronado 2 -- The Mustangs did all of their scoring in the last two innings.

Kelsie Fahr had a two-run double for Coronado.

• Las Vegas 6, Palo Verde 1 -- Jennifer Gliddon pitched a three-hitter for Las Vegas and helped herself by hitting a home run and a triple.

• Centennial 5, Bloomington (Calif.) 4 -- Lee hit a two-run single to right field with two outs in the seventh inning as the Bulldogs rallied to win their first game of the day.

Bloomington scored in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead but allowed a walk and made a poor throw on a fielder's choice to set the stage for Lee.

• Churchill (Ore.) 7, Foothill 2 -- Megan Peterson pitched a two-hitter to help the Lancers beat the Falcons.