State NorCal DIII softball: Monterey falls to Chico in extra innings
MONTEREY — Tears streaked their faces. It was not the emotional sendoff Monterey High’s softball team had hoped to have — particularly for seven seniors who fully expected to have one more game.
Having not played in five days after being given a bye in the first round of the Northern California playoffs when the Division III eight-team bracket couldn’t be filled, the Toreadores may have lost a little of their edge, enabling visiting Chico to seize the moment in extra frames in their semifinal matchup.
After pushing across three runs in the eighth inning, the Panthers are headed to the Northern California DIII finals, gaining a measure of redemption in the process after Thursday’s 5-2 decision.
“What brings you to tears, what’s chocking you up — all that emotion hits,” Monterey coach Travis Elder said. “All of a sudden, you realize ‘I do not get to do this again.’ You can’t prepare for your season to end. You feel this raw emotion.”
Five days after celebrating the program’s third Central Coast Section Division II title in five years, the Toreadores dropped just their fourth playoff game among 18 in their last five trips to the postseason.
“I can’t use any words to make it hurt less for them,” Elder said. “Not everyone gets the opportunity to feel that raw emotion. When these kids look back on it, it will be something to be proud of.”
Chico, which fell 4-0 to Monterey in a nonleague game on March 10, will seek more revenge on Saturday when it visits No. 2 seed Las Plumas — 7-6 winners over East Nicolaus — in the title game.
Champions of the Eastern Athletic League, the Panthers (25-7) were beaten 13-12 five days ago by Los Plumas in their Northern Section title game.
The Toreadores (16-11) came into the tournament riding a wave of emotion, having knocked off three higher-seeded teams in the CCS Division II playoffs, outscoring their past two opponents 19-3.
“You can’t take away our CCS title,” Elder said. “Sometimes that gets lost. When I send out the package to get sized for a CCS ring, I hope that brings a smile to their face. The Nor Cal tournament should not diminish that achievement.”
In addition to the five-day layoff between games, seven seniors were dealing with graduation duties leading up to the contest, as Monterey graduates on Friday.
“I think they did a pretty good job of not letting it be a distraction,” Elder said. “It didn’t factor into the game. You have to learn to compartmentalize things in your life. We always stress growth as a person.”
It wasn’t that Monterey didn’t have its chances, having left two runners on the base paths twice in the earlier innings, including two in the first inning.
For the first time in the postseason, Monterey found itself staring at a deficit, down 1-0 in the first on a homer from Panthers’ pitcher McKena Harvey, and 2-1 in the fourth inning.
Harvey was dynamic in the circle as well, limiting the Toreadores to five hits, leaving runners in scoring position in the first and fourth innings.
“We knew how this girl threw,” Elder said. “We did all we could to simulate it. We just ran into a buzz saw with that pitcher. When she is on the mound, that team believes it’s invincible.”
Monterey tied the game in the bottom of the third when Denae Lee singled home Anaiyah Brown, tying it again in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Keira Prakash, scoring Kayleekai Manglona, who had tripled.
“She’s (Prakash) been a starter most of the season,” Elder said. “We had a kid come back from an injury. In these games, you have to roll the dice a little bit. We made a decision to have her come off the bench. We knew her mindset could handle it.”
Prakash also dug out a ball at first base to complete a double play started by Brown in center field to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard in the seventh.
“She will be able to take that moment into her life,” Elder said. “That’s the beauty of sports. It helps people grow. She stayed ready for the moment.”
With Monterey unable to capitalize with the top of the order coming up in the bottom of the seventh, Chico pushed across three runs in the eighth inning, turning two groundouts into a pair of runs.
“We fought and did a lot of things well,” Elder said. “It was one of those games where, who was going to blink first. Chico did a little bit of everything. They seized the moment.”
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 8:27 PM.