JAYDEE BOURSAW launches a three-run homer in the sixth inning, lifting the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High softball team to a 5-3 playoff victory over Cardinal Newman.

For the better part of five innings Friday, Cardinal Newman pitcher Lexie Raasch was fooling the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High softball team with her deceptive rise ball. Then in the bottom of the sixth, SPSV senior Jaydee Boursaw finally caught up with it.

Boursaw’s three-run homer erased a 3-1 deficit and vaulted the Lady Bruins to a 5-3 victory, launching SPSV into the North Coast Section Division IV semifinals. The No. 3 seed Lady Bruins (18-8) will face either No. 2 seed Fortuna or No. 7 seed Clear Lake next week, with the winner advancing to the championship game.

“She was a good pitcher,” Boursaw said of Raasch, who held SPSV’s powerful offense scoreless through the first four innings. “She had a really great rise ball and it took us a minute to adjust to it.”

“We’ve struggled a couple of times this year with pitchers who throw the rise ball, but it’s tough to defend the three-run homer,” said SPSV manager Rich Gigliotti.

A couple of SPSV errors led to two unearned runs for No. 6 seed Cardinal Newman (16-10) in the first inning, and Raasch hit a solo home run in the fourth that tipped off the glove of SPSV left fielder Cydney Hampton, giving the Lady Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

SPSV finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth. Kaluza bunted for a hit and went to second on a throwing error, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Tori Enderiz and scored on a single by Neenah Pangilinan.

Back-to-back singles by Natalya Ocon and Deijah Pangilinan got SPSV going again in the sixth inning, and Boursaw crushed a three-run homer that sailed over the 190-foot sign down the left-field line. The Lady Bruins added an insurance run when Hampton doubled off the fence in center and scored on a RBI single by Marisa Avalos.

A two-out single by Kate West and a SPSV error gave Cardinal Newman some hope in the top of the seventh, but Kaluza got the final batter to ground out, sending SPSV to the semifinals.

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