Central Catholic softball returns to D-III title game after walk-off win over Oakdale

“Why not me?”

That was Central Catholic senior third baseman Jazzelyn Rios’ question to herself as she stood in the batter’s box in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals against Oakdale.

The Raiders could not get anything going all game against the Mustangs’ sister duo of Delainey and Raegen Everett, reaching base just three times on three walks.

Offense didn’t come any easier for the Mustangs against Raiders pitcher Randi Roelling, who struck out 13 batters, walked four and did not allow a hit until the top of the fifth inning.

With one out, Roelling walked in the bottom of the seventh inning, setting the table for Rios.

“I was kind of manifesting,” Rios said. “I told myself I’m going to hit something. I don’t care what it is. I need to get it on the ground or in the air, we got a runner on, I’m getting on no matter what.”

She looked at the first two pitches from Raegen Everett, both zipped into the zone for strikes. She proceeded to foul off four of the next five pitches before driving a ball deep to right field. The ball bounced out of the tip of Briley Everett’s glove as Roelling raced around third. She slid into home, beating the tag to send the Raiders to the Division III section championship game for the second straight year. They will play No. 2 Ponderosa on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Cosumnes River College.

Central Catholic coach Sam Nichols calls Rios the team’s “glue.”

“Jazzy is hilarious, she’s our energizer bunny,” he said. “She has been a key piece in bringing along the freshmen and being a big sister to them.”

Rios is a product of a softball family.

She says it started with a grandpa who played for the Oakland A’s and trickled through the generations. She plays year-round with local clubs, going up against some of the best competition in the summer. She will attend NCAA Division II Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

“My family is very into baseball and softball.” she said. “I’ve always been in competitive environments, and they’ve all been games like this.”

Rios’ hit was the only one the Raiders had, the only one they needed.

She came through with the game winner, but she is confident it could have been any member of the lineup.

“Anybody on our team could do something like that,” she said. “We all have a great bat. I felt pumped because it’s Oakdale, this is our rival. It felt amazing.”

The final matchup

Randi Roelling and Delainey Everett matched up as high school opponents for the last time.

It’s been a long journey for the pair of NCAA Division I-bound pitchers, who first met at pitching lessons when they were young and continued through travel ball from 12U until high school.

“I just remember from pitching lessons seeing her at a game and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a girl that I pitch with,’” Everett said of their early interactions. “We’ve always gone back and forth in competition, and after every game we’re like, ‘Great job.’ We give each other a hug and it’s always wishing each other the best. It’s no hard feelings towards her or her towards me.”

Much like during their time at their respective high schools, early travel ball matchups between the left-handers always were a big deal.

“You knew that in the end, you’re gonna face them,” Roelling said. “I do miss championship Sundays with her and seeing who’s going to take it that weekend. … We always started on opposite ends of the bracket and we met each other in the middle every weekend.”

Their short high school careers surely will go down in their school’s record books. Despite missing portions of two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they packed bleachers during Valley Oak League games and postseason contests, with fans itching to see not only two of the best softball teams in Northern California, but also two of the best players in the country.

“We have the same respect toward each other,” Everett said, “which helps us on the field because it would make the game not fun if we hated each other. In the moment, we’re competitive, but at the end of the day, it’s a game and our friends mean more than a win or a loss.”

Roelling will continue her career at Pac12 Conference’s Cal Berkeley and Everett will play her college ball in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) at Mississippi State.

“I think they prepared us for college.” Roelling said of matchups between the two pitchers and rival schools.

Unfinished business

For the second straight season, a championship-level matchup between the two Valley Oak League rivals took place in the section semifinals.

Last season, the No. 2 Raiders beat the No. 3 Mustangs 3-1 to advance to the 2022 championship.

“Playing Oakdale brings a different element to the game,” Nichols said. “We say it’s just another game because if it was any other team coming in here, we’d have the same thought process. But the intensity of the rivalry adds an extra element.”

Roelling, Rios and a number of other Raiders are back in familiar territory.

In last year’s championship, they faced current Arizona freshman Tayler Biehl, who was a senior at Vista Del Lago. The Eagles won the game 7-5.

This year, they get a second chance.

“(It feels) great because I want to win it this time,” Roelling said. “I hate being runner-up. I have (the patch) on my letterman and I hate it.”

Said Nichols: “Last year, we got there and I don’t think we were ready to win it, we were kind of in awe of the moment. From the beginning of this season, it’s been unfinished business. In that first team meeting, we talked about it, and everything we’ve done … has been to get there and then hopefully win it.”