The Saugus Centurions softball team will officially finish on top of the Foothill League standings after Tuesday’s win over West Ranch.
Undefeated after nine games in league play, the Centurions are at least co-champions of the league for the first time since 2022. Valencia has an outside shot at sharing the title with Saugus should Valencia win out and Saugus lose its remaining three games.
The Centurions (20-4, 9-0) continued their assault on the other Foothill League teams with a 6-1 road win at West Ranch (8-14, 5-4).
Jordan Shepherd hit a home run and scored twice for Saugus. Riley Bennett drove in two runs and Savanna Smith scored twice while collecting three hits.
Taliya Mata tossed five innings for Saugus, striking out four while allowing one unearned run on five hits.
The win gives Saugus head coach Kyle Mark a league title in his first year in charge of the program. The title can be Saugus’ outright should the Centurions beat Hart on the road on Thursday.
“I’m happy for the girls,” Mark said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “More than anything, I’m really happy for our seniors, really happy for the girls that have dedicated so many years to this program, even before I got here. I’m really happy that they were able to experience the success that they’re having this year.”
While the Centurions are undefeated so far in the league, there have been a few games that could have gone the other way. That resilience has impressed Mark as Saugus looks to take its league dominance into the upcoming postseason.
“We’re lucky to play in this valley where there’s so much talent, so many great teams,” Mark said. “So, when you do get to the playoffs, it feels like you’ve been playing playoff softball for weeks. So, it is nice, because it does prepare you for those high-leverage games, because we’ve been playing in them.”
Valencia is in second place in the league standings after shutting out Castaic on the road on Tuesday, while West Ranch is in third. Hart and Canyon are tied for fourth place.
Those two teams are set to meet on Tuesday, May 6, in what could be the game that decides which one gets the fourth and final automatic playoff spot from the Foothill League.
Here’s what else happened in Tuesday’s Foothill League softball action:
Valencia 8, Castaic 0: The Valencia Vikings (10-6, 6-3) secured a season sweep over the Castaic Coyotes (8-11, 2-7) with an 8-0 shutout on the road on Tuesday.
Sydney Bolder collected a double and triple as part of a three-hit day for the Viking. She drove in two runs and scored three runs. Blair Rune also had three hits, including a double, and drove in a run.
Scarlett Carlson added two runs driven in for Valencia.
Carly Kearns struck out 13 Coyotes, allowing five hits in a shutout performance in the circle.
Hart 8, Golden Valley 4: The Hart Hawks (7-13, 4-4) got back into the playoff conversation after beating the Golden Valley Grizzlies (4-14, 0-8) at home on Tuesday, 8-4.
Jessica Gutierrez hit a home run and drove in four runs for Hart. Sadie Curtis and Hannah Cook each had three hits. Curtis scored three times while Cook scored twice.
Cook struck out two and allowed just four hits over seven innings.
