Playoff Picture: Here are the 12 prep softball teams that are SJS playoff-bound

Postseason play is upon us in San Joaquin County as we are just days away from the Sac-Joaquin Section softball playoffs.

It has been an action-packed 2023-24 season filled with teams clawing their way to the top of their leagues all with the hopes of competing for a blue banner. Last season no team could complete the tall task with the furthest teams making it to the semifinals in their respective divisions.

This year the door has cracked back open for these 12 teams who are playoff-bound at the final week point of the regular season.

The top four teams from the Valley Oak, Tri-City Athletic, and Trans Valley Leagues will qualify for the playoffs. Only the top three teams qualify for playoffs from the Central California Athletic Association, San Joaquin Athletic Association, Southern Athletic League, and Western Athletic Conference.

(Listed in order by division)

Division 1

Lincoln (9-13-1)

Last season the Trojans couldn’t make it past the first round in the D1 bracket losing to Franklin (Elk Grove) 4-1. They will get a chance at redemption this year closing out the season in fourth place in the TCAL and snagging the final qualifying playoff spot from the league.

Lincoln has battled for every victory this season and the postseason will be no different. Junior Mia Pamplona leads its offense with a team-high 30 hits and a .462 batting average. Pamplona and the Trojans' other key weapons will need to be on point to make it past the first round of the playoffs this year.

Lodi (20-6)

The Flames were determined to take home the TCAL championship and they didn’t care which familiar foe stood in their way. They ended the season with a 13-2 league record picking up a big-time win over Tracy on April 30 to secure themselves as league champs.

Lodi beat the fellow first-place Bulldogs in eight innings winning the game 2-1. The Flames were led by senior pitcher Hannah Escalante who picked up 10 Ks and only allowed four hits all game. With Escalante and a handful of other defensive/offensive weapons leading them, the Flames will look to hold their own in the Division 1 bracket, the highest bracket they’ve competed in.

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Mountain House (20-7)

Playing in the Division 1 bracket this year will be Mountain House after a first-round appearance in the Division 2 bracket last year. The Mustangs finished third in the WAC with an 11-3 record and notable wins over Ceres and Lathrop.

They took down their local rivals Lathop to close out the regular season beating the Spartans 2-0. Junior Luna Lopez was the catalyst to the win leading her team on the mound with 14 strikeouts. She only allowed the Spartans two hits all game, a shutdown pitching performance that she’ll look to carry over into the postseason.

Stagg (12-6)

The Delta Queens are heading back to the SJS D1 playoffs after finishing out the regular season with a 10-3 record in SJAA place. They would snag second place thanks to stellar pitching and leadership from sophomore Aerie Garcia.

As a sophomore, Garcia has already broken the school’s record for career Ks with a whopping total of 240 strikeouts. She is always been a vital part of Stagg’s offense this season holding the highest batting average of .617. Stagg will need Garcia to shine if it wants to make it past the first round of playoffs.

On the bubble: Edison (10-17)

Division 2

Bear Creek (13-9-1)

Staking claim to the final qualifying playoff spot from the SJAA are the Bruins who finished in third place with an 11-3 record. Last year, Bear Creek made it to the quarterfinals in the D2 bracket but couldn’t get past St. Mary’s. This year, a former Ram will look to be the driving force to get Bear Creek past the quarterfinals.

Senior Destiny Garcia transferred to Bear Creek for her senior year and has been a leader on the mound. The righty knows how to keep batters off balance and pick up Ks. The Gannon University signee can be a difference-maker in the playoffs, especially against her former team, St. Mary’s.

Linden (20-5)

Perfection was achieved by the Lions this season going a perfect 14-0 in SJAA play. This stellar league play from them will land them in the Division 2 bracket bumping up from the Division 3 bracket they competed in last season.

Linden couldn’t make it past the first round last year losing to Central Catholic 9-0. This go-round it will look to survive and advance with sophomore Olivia Fears leading its offense. She is ranked 19th in the nation for RBIs with 45. Fears also led the Lions in batting average (.560), stolen bases (18) and hits (51).

St. Mary’s (14-13-1)

This season wasn’t pretty for St. Mary’s but it held its own to land a qualifying playoff spot from the TCAL. The Rams ended the season third in the league with an 8-7 record with notable wins over Lincoln and Lodi. They will compete in the SJS Division 2 bracket this season after making a deep run to the Division 1 semifinals last season.

St. Mary’s will look to be a semifinal-type team once again this year with junior Matea Muraoka leading the charge. She ended the season with a team-high .560 batting average and led her team in home runs (9), hits (47), and RBIs (38). Muraoka will be a slugger to watch in the D2 brackets.

Tracy (21-3-1)

For five weeks straight Tracy remained the team to beat from SJ County coming in at No. 1 in the Record’s Top 10 prep softball teams weekly rankings. The Bulldogs worked their way to the top of the TCAL and the SJS ending the regular season tied for first in league and No. 5 in the section.

They have had a stellar dugout and pitching from junior Elisa Galli this season making them a huge threat in the D2 bracket. Galli is ranked No. 15 in the section in wins on the mound with 12 dubs so far. Offensively, Tracy’s underclassmen are the stars. Sophomore Emalee Cargill and freshmen Taylor Sansaver and Hayden Fell are all batting over .400 this year.

Division 3

Manteca (15-6)

The Buffaloes stood their ground in a loaded VOL finishing league play in third place with a 6-4 record. This earned them a qualifying spot for the SJS Division 3 bracket which will be filled with familiar foes. For the last two seasons they lost in the quarterfinals and this year senior Nayellys Torres will look to break the two-year skid.

The pitcher finished second in the VOL in total strikeouts racking up 123 Ks. She holds an 11-5 record on the mound, the best on her team, with just one more non-league game to go. Manteca will need its star pitcher to shine and its underclassmen offense to stay consistent to make a deeper run in a tough Division 3 bracket.

More: SJS baseball DI playoffs: St. Mary's bests Franklin in first round

Division 4

Kimball (13-8)

With a 5-5 VOL record, Kimball snatched the final qualifying playoff spot from the league. Last year the Jaguars ended their season with a quarterfinal loss to Vista del Lago in the Division 3 bracket. This year they have been bumped down to Division 4 and will likely be a top-four seed, according to MaxPreps softball playoff projections.

Leading them to the postseason will be senior Elysia Duarte who has been nearly unstoppable offensively this year. The Southern Oregon University commit holds a team-high batting average of .548 and leads the Jaguars in hits (34) and on-base percentage (62.2%). Duarte and Kimball’s other offensive weapons will come in clutch as they look to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Division 5

Ripon (16-5)

Like Linden, Ripon has achieved perfection in league play finishing with a 10-0 record in the TVL. Kharime Caratachea, one of the top senior pitchers from the SJS this year, led it to a league championship. She is ranked fifth in the section for total batters struck out sitting down 209 so far.

The San Francisco State commit also has the sixth-most wins on the mound in the SJS with 15. She and the Indians will look to make another deep run in the playoffs this time in the Division 5 bracket instead of Division 4. Last year they finished just a game shy from the SJS championships losing to Capital Christian 5-2.

On the bubble: Escalon (6-16)

Division 6

No SJ County softball team will qualify for the Division 6 bracket.

Division 7

Millennium (12-11)

Finishing third in the CCAA with a 5-3 record, Millennium snagged the final qualifying spot from the league. The Falcons competed in Division 6 last year but couldn’t get past the quarterfinals losing to Summerville 4-2.

This go-round, they will compete in Division 7 and are projected to be a No. 2 seed according to MaxPreps. Leading them has been the do-it-all junior Jocelyn Hernandez. She led the team with the highest batting average (.530) along with the most stolen bases (29), hits (35) and runs (30). Hernandez will need to continue to be Millennium’s hot bat if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Playoff Picture: Here are the 12 prep softball teams that are SJS playoff-bound