CCS Division III softball finals: Alvarez three peats as section champions
SAN JOSE — Pandemonium started in the circle before moving toward left fielder Kamyla Cruz, who clutched the ball in her glove for the final out.
The emotion was real. For an Alvarez program that had endured a tumultuous stretch — not once, but twice during the year, celebrating a section softball title for the third consecutive year felt surreal.
“We had a lot of doubts at midseason,” Alvarez coach Andy Meza said. “It was a learning process. We were dealing with two big injuries. New leaders stepped up. I may not show it. But inside, I’m really emotional right now.”
Alvarez has put itself in a prestigious place, becoming just the second program in county history to three-peat as Central Coast Section softball champions after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Santa Teresa in the Division III finals at San Jose City.
“I am super proud of my teammates,” said pitcher Dani Amendola, who has been a part of all three title teams. “We pulled together in the end.”
Alvarez, who will be seeded into the Northern California tournament, which begins on Tuesday, has a Division I title and two Division III championships to its credit, beating Santa Teresa for the second straight year in the finals.
“I’m personally not a fan of the Northern California tournament,” Meza said. “We have kids graduating on Thursday if we get past the first round. But the girls are looking forward to it.”
Alvarez elected not to take part in the tournament last year when Meza learned he’d have six players from his varsity team available because of graduation commitments.
The only other team in the county to three-peat as CCS champions was Notre Dame, who set a state record of nine straight section titles from 1998-2006.
Having endured losing streaks of seven and five games after opening the year with nine straight wins, Alvarez was staring at a 2-9 Gabilan Division mark before winning its last three games to earn a play-in game.
“We started messing more,” Amendola said. “We didn’t make any big changes. We just didn’t get as down if something went wrong.”
Amendola has been nearly unhittable during the Eagles postseason push, having produced five shutouts during a current seven game winning streak — having not allowed a run in her last 15 innings of work.
Having outscored two opponents 20-4 in the postseason, the No. 2 seeded Saints were held to two hits by Amendola, who finished with seven strikeouts, giving her 29 in three postseason games.
“My curve ball and fastball were working really well,” said Amendola, who has won 41 games in three seasons with Alvarez and is 9-0 in CCS playoffs. “I could tell early that my stuff was on. I was hitting my spots.”
Santa Teresa (16-14), who ended North Salinas’ season last Thursday with a 10-0 win, was seeking redemption after falling 5-2 in last year’s Division III title game to Alvarez.
One run would be all Amendola would need as Alvarez broke up a scoreless battle in the fifth inning when Amaris Perez’s single was misplayed, enabling Lizbeth Ramirez to score from first.
“I did not think one run would be enough,” Meza said. “Santa Teresa has some amazing hitters. I was scared. But Dani and the defense shut them down.”
Despite their midseason struggles, the 18 wins the Eagles have manufactured this year is the second most in school history behind the 2022 team that won 24 games.
