Still the One! Mater Dei Catholic keeps humming along with Open Division title

The Mater Dei Catholic High School girls softball team may have received the supreme compliment when it received the No. 1 seed in this year’s Southern California regional championship tournament and a bye directly to Thursday’s semifinals.

The Lady Crusaders were to host fifth-seeded Point Loma. A win would advance the Chula Vista private school to Saturday’s championship game which it would host, again very familiar territory for a team that won last year’s regional title.

On the other side of the regional bracket lay second-seeded La Habra and sixth-seeded Santa Fe Springs St. Paul, both forfeit winners in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Either one would supply the opposition in Saturday’s final.

Point Loma (24-9) defeated fourth-seeded Whittier Christian (24-9-1) by a score of 10-1 on Tuesday to get a rematch within a week against the Lady Crusaders (29-3). Four players each recorded two RBI: Ella Poulin, Deililah Pearlmutter, Remington Spangler and Madison Dudley.

Whittier Christian had advanced to the regionals with a 24-8-1 record after defeating Santa Ana Mater Dei, 5-3 in eight innings to win the Southern Section Division II championship and extend its winning streak to 13 games.

Mater Dei Catholic defeated Point Loma, 5-3, in last Saturday’s San Diego Section Open Division championship game to run its record to an imposing 29-3 on the season while riding its own eight-game winning streak and capturing its second consecutive Open Division section title.

Ranked 17th nationally, the Lady Crusaders’ three losses have been to Carlsbad (3-1 on March 9), Fullerton (3-0 on April 3) and Norco (5-1 on May 2).

The team is averaging one loss per month against almost 10 wins per month.

Co-head coach Liz Centrullo mapped out the team’s game plan for 2026: win the Metro-Mesa league championship, repeat as Open Division champions and repeat as regional champions. The spunky and talented squad had already checked off two of the three items on the list after Saturday’s win over the Lady Pointers.

Mater Dei Catholic finished 6-0 in league play and carried a 25-1 record against section competition into Thursday’s regional semifinal.

Junior Arri Romero anchored the team in the section championship game both in the pitching circle (complete game, eight strikeouts) and at the plate (three hits, one double, one home run, two RBI). She improved to pitching record 25-3 on the season with a 0.94 earned-run average and 164 strikeouts in 164.1 innings and boasted a 0.376 hitting average with 31 RBI and five home runs in 32 games.

Juniors Sunny Sosa and Maya Matthies (triple) each drove in one run while Romero, senior Julianna Soto, sophomore Ari Larios, junior Christina Gonzalez and Matthies each scored once.

Heading into Thursday’s game, senior Bella Harris led the team with a 0.406 hitting average while collecting 39 RBI. Matthies ranked second at 0.398 with 37 RBI while senior Gigi Flores was third at 0.392 with 29 RBI.

Mater Dei Catholic’s Arri Romero improved to 25-3 on the season with a 0.94 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 164.1 innings                                            after striking out eight batters in Saturday’s complete game victory.

San Diego Section Championships

Baseball Finals

Open Division: (5) Patrick Henry 7, (3) Eastlake 6. Records: Patrick Henry 24-9, Eastlake 24-7

Division I: (3) Madison 3, (5) Mt. Carmel 2. Records: Madison 25-7, Mt. Carmel 19-15-1

Division II: (3) Helix 8, (1) Christian 4. Records: Helix 21-11, Christian 21-10-1

Division III: (2) Westview 5, (4) Ramona 2. Records: Westview 26-6, Ramona 22-9

Division IV: (5) Francis Parker 6, (7) Foothills Christian 4. Records: Francis Parker 24-11, Foothills Christian 22-13

Division V: (1) Coastal Academy 4, (3) Canyon Hills 3. Records: Coastal Academy 23-7, Canyon Hills 24-8

Division V-AA: (1) Borrego Springs 7, (2) Calvin Christian 1. Records: Borrego Springs 18-4, Calvin Christian 17-8

Softball Finals

Open Division: (1) Mater Dei Catholic 5, (2) Point Loma 3. Records: Mater Dei Catholic 29-3, Point Loma 23-9

Division I: (3) Steele Canyon 13, (4) La Jolla 7. Records: Steele Canyon 21-11, Torrey Pines 17-13-1

Division II: (1) Carlsbad 3, (10) Scripps Ranch 0: Records: Carlsbad 21-6, Scripps Ranch 16-12-1

Division III: (2) Helix 6, (1) Brawley 2. Records: Helix 24-4, Brawley 19-11

Division IV: (1) Madison 14, (2) Grossmont 7, Records: Madison 22-9-1, Grossmont 18-11-1

Division V: (3) Monte Vista 17, (1) La Jolla 9. Records: Monte Vista 19-13, La Jolla 16-13

Division V-AA: (2) Borrego Springs 9, (1) Warner 1. Records: Borrego Springs 16-9, Warner 11-8