Hillsdale knocks off Tigers in semifinals

So now Butcher and the 2025 squad will get a chance to experience a CCS championship game together as the top-seeded Knights held on for a 2-0 win over No. 4 Notre Dame-Belmont in a Division II semifinal game Wednesday night at Capuchino High School.

“Yeah, I’m excited,” Butcher said.

The Knights will face off against rival San Mateo (16-9) Saturday at a time and place to be determined. The seventh-seeded Bearcats topped No. 6 Everett Alvarez, 2-1, at Capuchino Wednesday afternoon.

Butcher admitted she was nervous as Hillsdale (18-9-1) scored two runs in the first inning and then were all but shut down the rest of the way by NDB starting pitcher Alli Lui, who gave up two hits in the first inning and did allow another until an infield hit by Sammie Marinec in the bottom of the sixth.

“And that’s her not at 100%,” said NDB head coach Nick Dykes. “She was down to just two pitches — the change and the curve. Sometimes the rise ball, you’re just not feeling it. But she locates and has really good spin.”

But Hillsdale starter Lola Jones was just as good. While NDB (20-5-1) had its chances, Jones consistently wiggled out of trouble all game long as she stranded seven runners in scoring position, scattering five hits while striking out 11, including six of the first nine batters of the game.

“Her pitches are strong. She moves the ball well,” Butcher said of Jones. “Stellar, as usual.”

NDB had Jones on the ropes in the top of the first, with Hailey Truong drawing a leadoff walk and Skylar Loo reaching on an infield hit.

But Jones got out of the jam by striking out the next three batters.

Hillsdale got its chance in the bottom of the inning and the Knights took advantage. Sophia Shelton jumped on the first pitch from Lui that she stroked into left field for a leadoff single. A groundout moved Shelton to second and when Lui induced Mia DeMartini into a routine grounder to the third baseman, it looked like the Tigers were poised to get out of the inning.

But the third baseman first looked to get the lead runner at third. When she saw that wasn’t an option she threw late to first and Hillsdale had runners on the corners with one out.

Jones came up with an RBI groundout to drive in Shelton and that was followed by an RBI single from Taylor O’Mahony on the first pitch she saw to plate DeMartini for a 2-0 Knights’ lead.

Lui got out of the inning, but the damage was done.

Hillsdale still managed to get base runners on a hit batter and an error in the second inning and a walk in the fifth. But Lui kept her team in the game.

But the Tigers’ bats just couldn’t take advantage. After Truong had a one-out triple in the third, Loo came up and smoked a line drive right at Hillsdale third baseman G Brum, who made a diving catch. A flyout to Paige Venezia ended the threat.

The Tigers had runners on second and third with one out in the fourth and came up empty and in the top of the seventh, Loo was robbed once again as she hammered a pitch to left field, only to see O’Mahony make a diving catch.

“We barrelled balls,” Dykes said. “We’ve had nine, 10 players all season. I’m super proud of this group. Everybody worked hard and bought in.”