TRACY, Calif. — Unbeaten Destiny Christian Academy knocked off big-school powers Vacaville and Salinas on Saturday to finish with four straight wins and its first-ever NFCA Nor Cal High School Leadoff Classic title.
Led by Purdue-bound Roxanne Sardo and LSU commit Ayla Tuua, the (15-0) Lions defeated Gregori and Merced on Friday and outscored their opponents 40-4 for the weekend to capture the Premier bracket at the 21st annual event, which was comprised of 32 varsity teams overall, with the top 16 assembled in that one bracket.
Play on day one was delayed two hours due to rain, but started with a bang, as Vintage upset co-host Tracy, a top-five team in California, 5-4. Elk Grove joined Destiny Christian, Salinas and Vacaville as Premier bracket semifinalists, all going 2-0 on Friday.
Runner-up Salinas and Elk Grove, which lost 5-3 to Salinas in their semifinal but defeated Vacaville 11-8 in the third-place game, both finished 3-1 at the Classic. Vacaville, meanwhile, lost its last two games, including 8-3 to Destiny Christian in the semis, to go 2-2 over the two days.
Saturday's early games set up an all-Sierra Foothill League final in the Platinum bracket, as St. Francis rolled past Pitman, 10-0, and Davis won 6-1 in nine innings against Kimball. In that championship game, Davis defeated the Troubadours, 7-6 in eight innings.
“The tournament was another success,” tournament director Charlie Pikas said. “I can't thank the city of Tracy and their facilities crew for working their tails off during the rain delay on Friday to make sure the games got in. The teams were great showing patience through the elements as well. And on Saturday watching some great softball made it so worth it.”
“Destiny Christian is the real deal and I think could be a team that ends the season high in the national rankings. We were also fortunate enough to have (three-time) NFCA All-American and AUSL athlete Sis Bates at the tournament both days, interacting with athletes and softball fans. It was a special weekend for sure."
Simultaneous to the varsity tournament, organizers hosted a 20-team junior varsity event.
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