High school softball: Freshman hitter clutch in D-I semi between Buchanan and Central
Buchanan High softball coach Dean Gregory paused and was trying to remember when his team played in the Central Section Division I championship.
“It’s probably been 2017, I think,” Gregory said.
Gregory was right about his assertion. Only this time, he hopes his Bears will come out on top.
To get there, however, Buchanan had to put in some work.
Top-seeded Central had a 4-3 lead, but the fifth-seeded Bears rallied in the top of the seventh inning, scoring three runs with two outs capped by freshman Addison Schafer’s two-run single in a 6-4 victory in a semifinal game.
“This team never quits,” Gregory said. “They are such a quality group of kids. They work hard and they have fun. They play the game the way it’s supposed to be played and I’m really happy.”
Buchanan will aim to win its first section title since 2016, facing No. 2 Clovis North, which won the title last season over Central.
For now, Gregory will savor this win.
Schafer, too.
“I had a lot of anxiety,” Schafer said of her at-bat. “I try to just settle down, calm my nerves, take it one pitch at a time and just try to help my team as much as I could.”
In the other semi, Clovis North rallied with six runs in the sixth inning to pull away from Stockdale in a 10-3 victory.
The Broncos took a 5-4 lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Sydney Kniss helped out when she had a two-run single in the sixth.
Brynn Gentry and Riley Grealy each had two RBI apiece.
Central Section semifinals
Division I
No. 5 Buchanan 6, No. 1 Central East 4
No. 2 Clovis North 10, No. 3 Stockdale 3
Division II
No. 3 Monache 4, No. 2 Garces 3
Friday
No. 4 Bakersfield Christian 4, No. 9 Edison 0
Division III
No. 7 Pioneer Valley 1, No. 3 Kerman 0
Friday
No. 5 Liberty-Madera Ranchos 5, No. 1 Wasco 3
Division IV
No. 1 Woodlake 8, No. 5 Golden West 5
No. 3 Coalinga 5, No. 7 Sanger West 1
Division V
No. 1 Orcutt Academy 1, No. 3 Hoover 0
No. 2 Dos Palos 5, No. 11 McLane 0
Division VI
No. 5 Torres 11, No. 1 Kern Valley 1
No. 10 Roosevelt 8, No. 3 Strathmore 3
Championships
At Margie Wright Diamond, Fresno State
May 29
Division VI
No. 5 Torres vs. No. 10 Roosevelt, 4:30 p.m.
Division III
No. 7 Pioneer Valley vs. No. 5 LIberty-Madera Ranchos, 7 p.m.
May 30
Division V
No. 1 Orcutt Academy vs. No. 2 Dos Palos, 4:30 p.m.
Division II
No. 3 Monache vs. No. 4 Bakersfield Christian, 7 p.m.
May 31
Division IV
No. 1 Woodlake vs. No. 3 Coalinga, 4:30 p.m.
Division I
No. 2 Clovis North vs. No. 5 Buchanan, 7 p.m.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 8:06 PM.
