SPRING JAMBOREE: Hard-throwing pitcher shuts down Centennial

Coaches often have a difficult time finding the silver lining in a loss.

Veteran Centennial softball coach Mike Livreri had no trouble finding some positives Friday after his team was beaten by Central Catholic (California) 9-1 in a Gold Bracket quarterfinal of the Spring Jamboree at Majestic Park.

Megan Faraimo, a 6-foot sophomore who has committed to UCLA, struck out 14 and pitched a four-hitter to lead the defending tournament champion Dons past the Bulldogs.

“She throws hard, probably harder than most pitchers we will see in town,” Livreri said. “She challenged us all day. It’s good experience. We can learn from it and get better.

“You’d rather play quality teams and face a quality pitcher. It’s all good for learning, for growing. Obviously you want to be in the championship, and that didn’t happen, but you learn from this.”

Faraimo also blasted a two-run homer that cleared the left-field fence by 50 feet.

Centennial (10-6) trailed only 3-0 until Cathedral (10-3-1) scored three times in the fifth, highlighted by Faraimo’s monster home run.

But the Bulldogs struggled to get base runners and didn’t collect their first hit until Stephanie Day led off the fifth with a triple down the right-field line.

Brianna Benoit followed with a single up the middle to cut the Dons’ lead to 6-1, but Centennial got only two more hits — a sixth-inning single by Makenzie Ball and a seventh-inning single by Benoit.

“Stephanie and Brianna made some pretty good adjustments, and Angel (Love) squared a ball up,” Livreri said. “We hit a couple of balls hard off of (Faraimo). I wish we could have had a few more.”

Faraimo struck out the final three batters with runners at first and second. She struck out five in a row the first time through the Bulldogs’ order, using a fastball and riseball that Centennial hitters were behind on.

Patricia Niu, the No. 9 hitter in the Dons’ order, was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and Jacey Bourgeois was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Cathedral Catholic, which will face Banning (California) in the semifinals at noon today.

Centennial 4, Kennedy (Calif.) 2 — Lina Barrera went 3-for-3 with an RBI as the Bulldogs held off the Cougars in a Gold Bracket game.

Makenzie Ball was 2-for-3, and Angel Love homered for Centennial.

Deanna Barrera threw a five-hitter for the Bulldogs.

Shadow Ridge 6, Southwest (Calif.) 0 — Mia Voges and Shelbi Denman combined on a two-hitter to help the Mustangs defeat the Eagles in a Gold Bracket game.

Caitlyn Covington doubled and singled for Shadow Ridge, which led 4-0 after two innings.

Rialto (Calif.) 8, Shadow Ridge 3 — Kalene Estrada homered, and the Knights built an 8-0 lead in the third inning and held off the Mustangs in a Gold Bracket quarterfinal.

Bailey Pepper doubled for Shadow Ridge, which committed five errors.

Palo Verde 10, Carson (Calif.) 0 — Taylor Askland spun a two-hitter to help the Panthers down the Colts in six innings in a Silver Bracket quarterfinal.

Grace Chavez was 2-for-3 with two home runs, and Camden Zahn went 3-for-4 for Palo Verde. Samantha Wade also homered for Palo Verde, which faces Churchill (Ore.) in a Silver semifinal at noon Saturday.

Palo Verde 4, Chaminade (Calif.) 2 — Haylee Lupinetti threw a six-hitter as the Panthers edged the Eagles in a Silver Bracket game.

Allyson Snelling was 2-for-3 with two doubles for Palo Verde.

Cayman Coughlin was 4-for-4 with a home run and a double for Chaminade.

Harbor Teacher Prep (Calif.) 8, Green Valley 0 — Carmen Angulo tossed a six-inning shutout as the Monarchs blanked the Gators in a Gold Bracket game.

Rhyen Aguilar was 3-for-4 with a double, and Gabrielle Fua went 3-for-4 for Harbor Teacher.

Isabel Herrera went 1-for-2 with a triple for Green Valley.

Green Valley 4, Fernley 3 — Tyre Hilton singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Gators by the Vaqueros.

Hilton went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Allie Lamb was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Green Valley.

Mercedes Rothwell homered for Fernley.

Liberty 11, Fernley 0 — Soraya Seumalo spun a two-hitter to lead the Patriots by the Vaqueros in five innings in a Silver Bracket game.

Marisa Olmos went 3-for-3 with a double, and Kelsey Camat-Toki and Ashleigh Rodriguez each went 2-for-3 for Liberty.

Southridge (Ore.) 7, Liberty 5 — Kalee Mabray and Kiana Kushiyama each went 2-for-3, and the Skyhawks used a six-run fifth inning to defeat the Patriots in a Silver Bracket quarterfinal.

Cali Christopher was 2-for-3 with a home run, and McKenna Hefley went 2-for-3 for Liberty. Breanna Alvarez was 2-for-4 for the Patriots.

Riverton (Utah) 10, Basic 0 — Jordan Lockhart had three hits and combined with Payton Anderson on a two-hitter as the Silverwolves blanked the Wolves in six innings in a Silver Bracket game.

Alysson Houston had three hits and an RBI for Riverton, which scored six runs in the sixth inning.

McQueen 8, Desert Oasis 7 — Haley Stevenson went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run as the Lancers rallied from a 6-0 deficit to top the Diamondbacks.

Bayley Miller also doubled for McQueen, which trailed 7-3 after the top of the fourth inning. The Lancers scored five runs in the bottom half of the inning to take their first lead.

Meagan McInerney and Meagan Anders each hit a double for Desert Oasis, and teammate Maggie Shepard was 2-for-3 with two runs.

Desert Oasis 13, Durango 3 — Paisley Garcia went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and four RBIs as the Diamondbacks routed the Trailblazers in five innings.

Gemma Perez doubled, and Erin McInerney was 3-for-4 with three RBIs for Desert Oasis, which led 7-0 after one inning.

Alexis Geraldo hit a home run, and teammate Madisyn Conriquez was 2-for-2 for Durango.

Bell (Calif.) 6, Durango 0 — Winning pitcher Mariah Leon went 2-for-3 to lead Eagles by the Trailblazers.

Leon tossed a seven-hitter with four strikeouts for Bell, which led 5-0 after the third inning.

Trinity Valentine and Kennedy Gallegos each had a double for Durango, and teammate Claudina Luna went 2-for-4.

Garfield (Calif.) 6, Lincoln County 2 — Deanna Perez and Samantha Orozco combined on a two-hitter, and the Bulldogs used a four-run second inning to top the Lynx in a five-inning game.

Easton Tingey and Cameron Lloyd each singled for Lincoln County, which led 2-0 after the first inning.

Lincoln County 5, Poly (Calif.) 2 — Josie Burgess tossed a four-hitter with two strikeouts to lead the Lynx by the Parrots.

Lloyd tripled for Lincoln County, which led 2-0 after the first inning and 4-2 after the third.