LAKE ELSINORE — Zero.
That’s how many home runs Temescal Canyon softball catcher Nia Hall had in her sophomore season when she woke up on Tuesday morning.
When the Titans finished off their CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal playoff game against No. 2-seeded Etiwanda, Hall had three homers as part of Temescal Canyon’s 4-0 upset victory that pushed them to a second semifinal appearance in four years.
Temescal Canyon (21-5) will play El Modena or Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Saturday at a site to be determined. Those teams play Wednesday.
Jessenia Moore went the distance in the circle and recorded her second consecutive shutout, allowing three hits while striking out eight and walking one
“Jess is going to do her job in the circle, and all year long my message to this offense has been to back her up … which is exactly what Nia did today,” Titans coach Kayla Hill said. “The game knows we’ve been working hard and right now it’s paying us back in a big way. It’s one game at a time with eyes forward to Saturday.”
Hall’s first home run got the Titans a 2-0 lead after an inning, as she drove a 0-1 pitch to straight away center field against Etiwanda starter Kimmy Aleman. She added solo shots in the fourth and sixth innings to left-center field in completing a 3-for-3 day at the plate.
The Titans have hit seven home runs in their last two games.
“All that garage work on the tee had to pay off at some point,” Hall said. “When we were told that it looked like we might be in Division 1, we embraced the challenge of going against these quality pitchers and offenses as a team and here we are … .”
That gave Moore, a junior coming off a shutout Saturday against No. 7-seeded Valley View, all the run she would need.
At one point, Moore retired 10 consecutive Etiwanda batters. That included striking out the side in the fourth inning.
“Working with a lead is a different kind of pressure, especially against a team like Etiwanda with such a good lineup, but it’s what you want as a pitcher,” Moore said. “The on campus has just been incredible and we are so grateful to see that backstop full of our classmates and families for this run.”
Etiwanda’s three hits came from Dailynn Battee, Amani McField and Mia Diaz. The Eagles finished 22-4 with a Baseline League championship a year after winning a Division 3 section title.
With the win, Temescal Canyon also qualifies for the CIF State regional tournament which begins Tuesday, June 3.
