High School

Updated CIF Southern Section 2023 softball playoff brackets: Ganesha, Foothill, Capistrano Valley, Great Oak take Saturday titles

Four teams that are among the Top 25 in the state will face off Friday and Saturday in Irvine; Pacifica outlasts Norco in Division 1 slugfest

Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports

After two weeks of nonstop action, the Southern Section's finest will face off Friday and Saturday at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine. 

Friday's finale was one all anticipated, but no one could have predicted the highest scoring Southern Section title game in history. 

That, however, is what occurred as Pacifica-Garden Grove, the state's No. 4 team, scored a wild 15-9 win over No. 2 Norco. SEE GAME REPORT

Pacifica won its seventh straight game overall and 10 of 11, including a 6-3 semifinal win over Oaks Christian. Norco had won six straight and 15 of 16. Norco came in with plenty of success over Pacifica over the years, winning eight of 10 since 2006, including a 6-3 triumph in 2022. 

That all turned around on Friday before a jammed-pace stadium.

JW North (Division 6) and Liberty (D5) were other winners Friday. The seven-game championship run concludes Saturday with four games, ending with a battle of two more team's in the SBLive California Top 25, No. 25 Great Oak (19-8) versus No. 19 Grand Terrace (23-5) in the D2 finals. . 

Here are the days and game times for all seven divisions, all played at Manning. 

FRIDAY

DIVISION 6

Village Christian (17-7-1) vs. JW North (28-3), 12:30 p.m.
Final: JW North 2, Village Christian 0

DIVISION 5

Irvine (21-11) vs. Liberty (22-3-1), 3:30 p.m.
Final: Liberty 5, Irvine 2

DIVISION 1

Pacifica-Garden Grove (22-8) vs. Norco (28-3), 6:30 p.m.
Final: Pacifica 15, Norco 9

Pacifica (Garden Grove) softball, Brynne Nally
Winning pitcher Brynne Nally, of Pacifica, is a Long Beach State commit. File photo: Heston Quan / Photo by Heston Quan

SATURDAY, MAY 20

DIVISION 7

Ontario (16-8-1) vs. Ganesha (15-0), 9:30 a.m.
Final: Ganesha 5, Ontario 0

DIVISION 4

Foothill (22-10) vs. Fullerton (23-6), 12:30 p.m.
Final: Foothill 5, Fullerton 3

DIVISION 3

Capistrano Valley (24-6) vs. Santiago/Corona (15-3-2), 3:30 p.m.
Final: Capistrano Valley 6, Santiago 1

DIVISION 2

Great Oak (19-8-1) vs. Grand Terrace (23-5), 6:30 p.m.
Final: Great Oak 8, Grand Terrace 0

Defending champions are Mission Viejo (D2), Bonita (D3), Moorpark (D4), Cajon (D5), Hillcrest (D6) and Capistrano Valley Christian (D7). 

Here are the CIF-SS softball brackets for all seven divisions with matchups and game times.

CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 1 SOFTBALL BRACKET

CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 2 SOFTBALL BRACKET

CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 3 SOFTBALL BRACKET

CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 4 SOFTBALL BRACKET

CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 5 SOFTBALL BRACKET

CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 6 SOFTBALL BRACKET

CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 7 SOFTBALL BRACKET

Published
Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports
MITCH STEPHENS, SBLIVE SPORTS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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