Norco softball team struggles offensively, falls to JSerra in Division 1 semifinals
NORCO - The list of pitchers who have dominated a Norco softball lineup three times in one season would be extremely short.
JSerra senior right-hander Liliana Escobar has added her name to that list this season.
Escobar’s latest masterpiece - a three-hitter with 14 strikeouts - came Saturday afternoon, as the Lions defeated Norco 2-0 in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal game. The loss ended the Cougars’ bid of winning a second consecutive Division 1 title.
In three appearances against Norco this season, Escobar allowed two runs (one earned) on nine hits and struck out 39 batters in 19 2/3 innings. Escobar recorded a pair of shutouts and also fanned 12 batters in the 2-1 loss to the Cougars on April 11.
“She had all four pitches working all three times we played,” Norco coach Rick Robinson said of Escobar’s strong performances against his lineup. “We got away with it once, but we never made the adjustments. … Good pitchers will take advantage of that.”
Escobar, who has signed with Florida, faced 26 batters during Saturday afternoon’s game and threw a first pitch strike 20 times.
“For me, it’s important to get ahead in the count,” said Escobar, who improved to 16-5 this season. “I know they like to swing at the up and in, and those are some of my better pitches. I was able to use that against them by getting the first pitch for a strike.”
JSerra (24-8) broke through against Norco starting pitcher Coral Williams in the third inning. Catcher Annabel Raftery gave her battery mate a lead to work with when she drove a 1-0 screwball the opposite way and over the left-field fence for a solo homer. Raftery hit a leadoff homer in a 1-0 quarterfinal win over Garden Grove Pacifica on Wednesday, the Lions’ only hit of that game.
Two miscues by Norco’s defense later that inning led to another run, as Brooklyn Lamb scored on a single by Magenta De Arte.
“I think both teams believed one or two runs could be enough to win,” Robinson said. “They got those this time, and we didn’t.”
Peyton May took over in the circle for Norco after De Arte’s RBI single in the third inning, and the Oklahoma State-bound senior retired all 13 batters. May was outstanding in her three playoff appearances this season, allowing no earned runs in 17 innings.
“She shut it down and gave us a chance,” Robinson said about May. “Pitching wasn’t the problem for us today. You have to hit and score runs to win at this stage of the season. We didn’t do that today and really didn’t give ourselves very many chances.”
Norco (28-3) got a runner to second base only twice. Bella Ray drew a leadoff walk in the second and moved up to second on a bunt by Camryn May. Escobar avoided giving up the first run by recording a strikeout and foul pop-up to Raftery behind the plate.
Kendra Nelsen doubled with one out in the third, but Escobar escaped once again with a fly ball to center and another strikeout.
Zoe Salazar led of Norco’s half of the fifth inning with a pinch-hit single to left field, but Escobar fanned the next three batters to put another zero on the board. Escobar registered nine straight outs by way of a strikeout between the third and sixth innings.
“Liliana, back in league, had a few struggles where she wasn’t as sharp as she would have like to have been, but what she has done in the postseason, particularly the last two games, she’s been on another level,” JSerra coach Kate Stith said. “Today was the best I’ve seen her throw probably the last 8, 9, 10 games. She was thrower quicker, harder, and her ball had a lot more bite.”
JSerra squares off against La Mirada (26-4) for the Division 1 championship May 29 or 30 at Barber Park in Irvine. This marks the second consecutive season the Lions have advanced to the section finals. JSerra was the Division 2 runner-up last season.
Norco is expected to be a Division 1 title contender again in 2027, as the Cougars only had three seniors on this year’s roster.
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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 8:51 PM.