Carlmont defeats No. 8 Santa Teresa 1-0

Carlmont, which defeated the Saints (16-13) 10-0 in the Wilcox Tournament earlier in the season, managed just four hits off starter Breanna Smith. The Scots finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Castagno led off with an infield single and advanced to second base on Keli Leong's sacrifice-bunt. Castillo followed with a line-drive single to center for the game's lone run. That was plenty - yes, plenty - enough for Castagno, who didn't allow a runner past first base.

Translation? The Saints didn't have a prayer of scoring. Their only hit came with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. Sara Salameda put down a perfect bunt towards the third base line. An onrushing Castillo fielded the ball cleanly but her momentum carried her past home plate and didn't allow her to make a throw to first. Salameda blocked any angle for Castillo to make a throw.

Even if Castillo was able to make a throw, Salameda had a good shot of beating it. So Castagno, the owner of seven no-hitters this season, settled for a one-hit gem, including 11 strikeouts. The senior hurler froze the Santa Teresa hitters with a knee-buckling, eye-fooling change-up, a pitch that goes about 1/3 the speed of her 60 mph-plus fastball.

"I had been struggling with the change-up so I worked on it a lot this week in practice," Castagno said. "It (late inning, 0-0 game) gets a little nerve-wracking and there's definitely pressure on us. But in a game like this, with all the adrenaline pumping, it makes me throw harder. We were all antsy and ready to play."

The Scots got up early for the contest, meeting at school at 9 a.m. to take some batting practice. The extra work obviously didn't hurt Castillo, the outstanding third baseman with a flair for the dramatic. Castillo didn't know the pitch count when she delivered the game-winning hit.

It didn't matter. And she didn't care.

"I was just looking for something to hit," Castillo said. "My team motivated me and I just stayed focused. It's important in a game like this to play as a team and rely on one another."

Carmel 3, Capuchino 2

The No. 4 seed Mustangs (18-10) saw their season come to an end in a Division III quarterfinal game at the Salinas Sports Complex. Capuchino committed three errors, leading to two unearned runs. No. 5 Carmel (22-5) led 3-0 before the Mustangs rallied for two runs in the seventh inning.

They strung out four straight hits. Roxanne Hannon and Jen Brook reached and scored off RBI singles from Chelsea Martin and Phyllis Lucero, respectively. Martin went 3 for 4, while Lucero and Brook added two hits each. Hannon tossed a complete-game, allowing just one earned run and striking out six.

"Carmel is a good team and played well, but we took the game out of our hands," Capuchino coach Marty Jenkins said. "That's the hard part."

OTHER SCORE: No. 7 Mercy-Burlingame 1, No. 2 Santa Catalina 0. The Crusaders (20-8) play No. 3 Valley Christian (23-11) in a Division III semifinal at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at San Jose's P.A.L. Stadium.