Santa Clara's bats bash as Bruins capture first CCS softball title: ‘A dream come true'

SARATOGA – With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, shortstop Cita Chavez eyed the softball as she angled over to its final landing spot on West Valley College's pristine field.

"I have to catch this ball no matter what," the Santa Clara senior thought to herself. "It's the last out, and we're going to win the championship in goodness knows how long. The pressure is on me."

With razor-sharp focus, Chavez got the ball to drop into her glove to record the final out of Santa Clara's 14-8 victory over Silver Creek in the Central Coast Section Division V title game.

Teammates and coaches mobbed her moments later.

"It's absolutely a dream come true," Julie Kawamoto told the Bay Area News Group after the program won its first softball title in any division.

The Bruins, playing in the program’s first section final since they lost the inaugural CCS championship to now-defunct Camden in 1976, wasted no time getting their bats going.

Victoria Calvillo led the game off with a triple, and then came home after an error in the field. After her teammates loaded the bases, Kyla Perkins made it 2-0 with a single to left, and Marley Hernandez doubled the lead with a single to left.

Genevieve Valdez made it 5-0 in the first with a walk, calming any anxiety the Bruins might have had in the dugout.

"There were a bunch of nerves at the beginning, so getting a lead at the start, it really helped us, and brought us into the game," senior captain Chloe Boyes said.

Silver Creek, led by Ariana Ibarra's three RBIs and CC Arreola's three hits, kept the pressure on the Bruins. But the deficit at the beginning was too much to overcome.

After gong up 5-0 in the first, Santa Clara tacked on another run in the second and four more in the third, while Silver Creek produced four runs to make it 10-4 after three innings. Each team scored four more runs to close the game.

The Bruins had 12 hits and two errors, while Silver Creek produced 10 hits and four errors.

Santa Clara's Calvillo was 3 of 4 at the plate, while Jazzy Ramirez had two RBIs and Hernandez also drove in three runs. Sophomore Rylan Morales pitched 5 ⅔ innings and also had an RBI.

Each team beat tough competition to reach the CCS final.

Silver Creek (19-9) finished fourth in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Santa Teresa Division, but finished the regular season on a three-game winning streak and earned the top seed in Division V.

The Raiders beat San Lorenzo Valley 5-4 in the first round before taking down Gunn 6-3 in the semifinal.

"I'm so proud of them," Silver Creek coach Nick Whiting said. "This team has battled day in and day out since January."

Santa Clara went 14-2 in league play and was one of the top teams in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division, just narrowly losing out on a league title to Palo Alto (15-1).

After routing Fremont-Sunnyvale 12-2, the Bruins defeated North Monterey County in a 17-16 extra-inning thriller for the ages that saw Santa Clara rally from a nine-run deficit.

Though Santa Clara's CCS run finished with a title and a berth in NorCal play, the Bruins (19-9) are declining the invitation, as is Silver Creek as the runner up.

Kawamoto said that with graduation scheduled to take place next week, and several members of the team having other commitments, the seniors decided to finish their high school careers on a high note.

"It's like a dream," Boyes said, smiling ear to ear while holding the CCS trophy in her left arm.

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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 2:23 PM.