Arroyo Valley softball team outlasts San Bernardino to win Division 8 title
IRVINE - Slow and steady wins the race.
*
San Bernardino player Delilah Pachero appears to be safe at first base but was called out in the sixth-inning of the CIF Division 8 Softball Championship game against Arroyo Valley on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
*
San Bernardino's Delilah Pachero loses grasp of the ball during the CIF Division 8 Softball Championship game against Arroyo Valley in Irvine on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
*
San Bernardino softball players are dejected after losing to Arroyo Valley in the CIF Division 8 Softball Championship in Irvine on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
*
The Arroyo Valley Hawks celebrate their CIF Division 8 Softball Championship against San Bernardino in Irvine onSaturday, May 30, 2026. Carley Acosta, facing camera, helped her team pull ahead in an extra inning game. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Show Caption
1 of 4
San Bernardino player Delilah Pachero appears to be safe at first base but was called out in the sixth-inning of the CIF Division 8 Softball Championship game against Arroyo Valley on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Expand
The Arroyo Valley softball team proved the ageless proverb true Saturday afternoon. The Hawks chipped at an early deficit, forced extra innings and scored three times in the eighth to defeat crosstown foe San Bernardino 8-5 in the CIF Southern Section's Division 8 title game at Barber Park.
Jaylin Casillas scored the tying run with one out in the top of the seventh inning and then knocked in the go-ahead runs with one down in the eighth inning for the Hawks (11-14).
It was a historic victory for these Hawks, as they became the first team in school history to claim a CiF Southern Section championship.
"No one can take that from them," Arroyo Valley assistant coach Gerald Baker said. "They literally made history and we've been preaching history since Game 1 of the playoffs. They were the first softball team to win a playoff game, but they didn't stop at that. This always will be the first team that won a CIF championship for Arroyo Valley."
However, it was San Bernardino (16-15-1) that came flying out of the blocks during the opening inning. Their Cardinals loaded the bases with one out on a walk, an error and a single by Delilah Pacheco. Alyssa Arredondo singled home two runs, and two more runs scored on a throwing error on the same play.
The score remained 4-0 until the top of the fourth inning. That's when Emily Herrera doubled home two runs to help Arroyo Valley finally break through against Audrina Reyes.
San Bernardino got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the fifth, as Leah Torres scored on a single by Pacheco.
That was the final run and hit Arroyo Valley pitcher Bianca Nava surrendered.
"I've been impressed with Bianca from the first day I met her," Hawks coach Nathan Barlow said. "She has improved so much over the years and grown mentally to handle something like this. And that showed today."
Arroyo Valley continued to collect hits and put traffic on the bases. Amy Mendoza singled home a pair of runs with two outs in the sixth inning to get the Hawks within a run.
Casillas led off the top of the seventh with a single and scored the tying run with one out when a throw from the outfield was off-line.
San Bernardino had the chance to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh, after a dropped fly ball put a runner on second with no outs.
Nava got a fly ball and a pair of strikeouts to avoid damage and send the game to extras.
Carley Acosta's third hit of the game, a single with one out, got things going for Arroyo Valley in the eighth. Two batters later, Casillas lined a single to left field to bring in two and give the Hawks their first lead of the game.
"That was a great feeling," said Casillas, a senior left fielder. "Our energy was a bit low for much of the game, but getting the lead really had us excited."
Alicia Arevalo capped the scoring for the Hawks with an RBi double to plate Casillas.
And Nava made sure that lead held up.
"I was super-hyped and nervous at the same time," Nava said about going out to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning. "I kept talking to myself to keep my composure at the end."
It was a heartbreaking loss for San Bernardino, but the coaching staff told their players not to hang their heads.
"I'm tremendously proud of these young ladies and everything they have accomplished this year," Cardinals coach Aaron Cooke said. "We've fought and battled tooth and nail all year, and that never stopped. We made it here (to the section finals), and that's something no other softball team from our school has ever done before."
Casillas, Nava and Acosta had three hits apiece for Arroyo Valley, while Alexa Arellano and Camilla Ramos each had two hits.
Torres and Arredondo had two hits apiece to lead San Bernardino's offense.
Both teams will compete in the CIF State regional playoffs, which begins with first-round games Tuesday afternoon.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 6:24 PM.